Man Utd star receives surprise England call for Euro 2024

Cameron Smith

• 10 Jun 2024 08:00 CDT
• 4 min read

Manchester United’s Tom Heaton will join England’s 2024 European Championship squad as a training goalkeeper.

The 38-year-old will not be able to feature in the tournament, as he wasn’t selected in England’s 26-man squad, but he will support Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale and Dean Henderson in Germany.

Heaton has three senior England caps to his name, all of which were earned during his time at Burnley, but he has not featured for the Three Lions since 2017.

READ MORE: How England will line up at Euro 2024

The Englishman joined Man Utd on a free transfer in 2021, and he has made three appearances for the Red Devils.

Heaton’s Man Utd debut came against BSC Young Boys in the 2021-22 Champions League group stage, while he made subsequent appearances against Charlton Athletic and Nottingham Forest in the 2022-23 Carabao Cup.

In an official statement posted by England, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate said: “I am really pleased Tom has agreed to join us in Germany.

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“Experience tells us that a tournament can put a lot of demand on our goalkeeping group led by Martyn Margetson. Tom will play an invaluable role on the training pitch supporting Jordan, Aaron and Dean.

“Off the field as someone we all know well, he will add to the positive environment we are always looking to create. We are grateful to Manchester United for their support in making this happen.”

Two Man Utd stars in England’s Euro 2024 squad

Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw are the only Man Utd representatives in England’s final 26-man Euro 2024 squad following the omissions of Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford.

Maguire was initially included in Southgate’s 33-man preliminary squad, but he was excluded from the final selection due to a calf injury sustained during the back-end of the 2023-24 campaign.

Rashford was omitted entirely, with Southgate opting to select Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon and Eberechi Eze ahead of the Man Utd star.

England’s Euro 2024 squad in full

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal).

Defenders: Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), John Stones (Man City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Man City).

Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Kobbie Mainoo (Man Utd), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace).

Forwards: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Man City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).