England trio Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Cole Palmer are among a number of players who could be potential beneficiaries if UEFA agree to increase national team squad sizes from 23 to 26 for Euro 2024.
National teams were allowed to take 26 players to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and to Euro 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic led to a congested calendar for clubs across the globe, particularly in Europe.
A host of European managers including Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate, Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman and Germany's Julian Nagelsmann are all in favour of having larger squads for this summer's Euros, the former of whom expressed his views following England's 2-2 friendly draw with Belgium on Tuesday.
Southgate, who named a 26-man England squad for this month's international break, told reporters: "It's inevitable we're going to be naming a longer squad, which is what we did before the Euros here (in 2021) even though we were dealing with 26 then.
"There is one more UEFA meeting where there's been a little bit of talk amongst some of the coaches about possibly increasing that [squad size].
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"We've got to make the best decisions with what we know and some of those currently are going to be medical decisions. And we've been able to get those right in the previous tournaments.
"We've been able to give people time, but with 23 that's definitely more difficult."
In response to the pleas of managers, UEFA have confirmed that their views on national team squad sizes will be "considered" ahead of Euro 2024.
A statement from UEFA released on Friday read: "We have taken note of comments expressed by some national team coaches on the squad size for Euro 2024.
"A workshop with the participating teams will be held on April 8 and on that occasion UEFA will listen to the views of the coaches.
"Any idea in this respect will then be considered and assessed."
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Which England players could benefit from a 26-man squad?
Southgate will name a provisional England squad ahead of Euro 2024 on May 21, two days after the Premier League season comes to a close, and as things stand, the Three Lions boss will be required to finalise a 23-man squad on June 7.
Should UEFA agree to nations selecting 26-man squads, a host of English players who are not necessarily nailed-on selections at present will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of heading to Germany this summer, including Manchester United duo Mainoo and Rashford.
Mainoo has enjoyed a rapid rise during his breakthrough campaign at Old Trafford, and after making his senior England debut last week, the 18-year-old will hope to continue his impressive form at club level in a bid to preserve his Three Lions spot.
Rashford, meanwhile, arguably has a point to prove following a below-par 2023-24 season with Man United, but he seemingly remains among the primary attacking contenders, for the time being, to earn a place on the England plane this summer.
Another who could benefit from a 26-man squad is Chelsea star Palmer, who only made his senior England debut in November but has put himself firmly in contention for a call-up to Southgate's Euros squad having scored 14 goals and registered 12 assists in 34 games across all competitions in his debut season at Stamford Bridge.
The likes of Reece James, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire, who have all been troubled with injuries this season, as well as Kalvin Phillips who has struggled for regular game time this term, are also among a number of England players who could benefit should squads be increased to 26.
Oliver Thomas
