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Gareth Southgate has revealed why he left James Maddison out of his England squad for the Nations League finals in Portugal.

With four English sides contesting the Champions League and Europa League finals action before the tournament next month, Southgate named a provisional 27-man squad to cover for possible injuries before their semi-final with Holland.

However, he decided not to call up any players from Aidy Boothroyd’s Under-21 squad as they prepare for the European Championships in Italy and San Marino.

Maddison, and Leicester City team-mates Harvey Barnes, Demarai Gray and Hamza Choudhury, could all feature at the Euros and Southgate said he wanted the Under-21s to gain tournament experience before stepping up to the seniors.

“We’ve taken so many players from the Under-21s early that we wanted the likes of Phil Foden, Maddison, Mason Mount, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Ryan Sessegnon, to have a tournament together,” explained the England boss.

“It will be good for them to get that tournament experience again. We think, for them, that is the next stage of their development.

“Myself and Steve Holland will be going to that tournament and we will have some training sessions with that group over the next couple of weeks. So it’s a really joined-up view to the future.

“We’re also mindful that we don’t need to rush the Under-21s.

"If they’re progressing well, we’ll move them if there’s the opportunity and it’s the right thing.

“But there’s no disgrace for them in being with that Under-21 group.

"The stronger that group are, the higher the level of their training will be and they should enjoy their tournament this summer.”