Premier League should reconsider five subs rule says England boss Gareth Southgate

Southgate’s side will have played three games in this two-week break, just as they did in September and October

Premier League clubs must consider the possibility of altering their stance regarding limiting teams to making only three substitutions per match says England manager Gareth Southgate, with injuries mounting up amid a congested schedule.

Football’s rule-making body, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), gave leagues the choice of continuing to use five substitutes per match in 2020/21, just as they did after the restart earlier in the year, due to the volume of matches being played after the COVID-19 pandemic truncated the length of the season.

While many other top European leagues, including Serie A and LaLiga, have taken up that option, a majority of Premier League clubs voted against it - though Southgate's call now echoes complaints from a chorus of club managers including Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jurgen Klopp asking for a change, following injuries to England internationals Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell.

"We were able to make five changes against Belgium, we made four in the end and clubs don't have that option," Southgate told reporters.

"What will it take for that to change? There were a couple of less serious injuries against Belgium but what do we do? Wait until we get a load of really nasty ones?"

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Southgate said England had been forced to give players extra days' recovery and also tapered their training schedules as the country's hopes of qualifying for the Nations League finals were dashed after Sunday's 2-0 defeat by Belgium.

"I have to be fair to the club managers. They are their players firstly and they have the right to play them as they see fit," he added.

"(Injuries are) a worry in the longer term because with no winter break, something has to give."

Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City's Pep Guardiola have been critical of the Premier League this season for not looking after the players following the switch back to a maximum of three substitutes.

England host Iceland on Wednesday in their final Nations League group stage game.

Reuters