England Boss Gareth Southgate Says His Criticism of Chris Smalling Was 'Unfair'

England manager Gareth Southgate has said he regrets criticising Chris Smalling and that the centre-back is under consideration for a call-up for the upcoming international break.

Smalling last played for England in June 2017, and most recent call-up for the Three Lions was in October that year.

Per Goal's James Westwood, after leaving him out of the squad for friendlies with Germany and Brazil in November 2017, Southgate said: "We want to play in a certain way, and the players I have brought in I want to see using the ball from the back and building it up in a certain way."

The England coach does not look back on his choice of words fondly:

"I've never ruled anybody out. I think that would be wrong.

"I think I said I probably regretted the way the message [came across]—by praising others for certain attributes, there was criticism for Chris.

"It was my fault and it was unfair on him. I think he's done well in Italy. He's playing at another big club.

"He was obviously playing at a big club before. We're watching everybody because we've got to make sure we make the right decision."

Since Smalling's last call-up, England have reached the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-finals—their best performance at the tournament since 1990—and finished third in the inaugural UEFA Nations League tournament.

However, the Three Lions have had issues at the back over the past 12 months.

Against the Netherlands in their Nations League semi-final, John Stones made errors leading to two goals in extra time.

England's defending was suspect again in a 5-3 win over Kosovo in September, in which Michael Keane gifted the visitors a goal inside the first minute with a wayward pass. They lost 2-1 to the Czech Republic in their following game in October.

While the Three Lions have been struggling at the back, Smalling has thrived while on loan with Roma from Manchester United this season:

The 30-year-old has been a key fixture in the Giallorossi's back line, making 28 starts in all competitions.

In February, he impressed as he helped Roma to record a 4-0 win over Lecce:

Football writer Kaustubh Pandey hailed him as one of the best centre-backs in Serie A this season:

The defender struggled to convince on a consistent basis at Old Trafford, but he's at his peak and arguably the most in-form centre-back option available to Southgate.

England are set to face Italy and Denmark in friendlies at the end of March, so those games would be the ideal time to bring him back into the fold ahead of UEFA Euro 2020 this summer.