England manager Gareth Southgate throws caution to the wind in Euro 2024 squad which is all in - Stuart Rayner

Southgate's caricature is the epitome of safety-first, the man whose loyalty to players who have served their country so well in recent years has been held up as a criticism throughout eight years as manager.

That went out of the window on Thursday evening in a squad announcement rushed forward when it became clear his best-laid plans were leakier than a cabinet meeting.

England’s numbers in qualifying – which Southgate fell back on when the conservatism tag was wielded again on Thursday – have always pointed to a more adventurous Three Lions but too often against the very elite they have turned into pussycats under him.

When England play France, Spain, Italy or Germany this summer can this managerial leopard really change his spots? The signs are that he will.

We had a warning at the start of the season with the ruthless cold-shouldering of Raheem Sterling despite a decent start to his Chelsea season which soon petered out.

But Harry Maguire and Kavlin Phillips were still being picked, despite struggling to get a game for the Manchester clubs. The moans kept coming.

March was another hint, Leeds-born Phillips ditched after basically backing Southgate into a corner with the dreadfulness of his form after leaving Manchester City on loan for West Ham United to try and force his way back into the team, and playing his way out of the squad.

No Jordan Henderson or Marcus Rashford in the 33-man provisional squad was yet another reminder that the blind loyalty schtick really was old hat.

It felt like the big tremor was to come when 33 became 26.

And yet still it came as a surprise when news of the final squad was rushed out rather than put before us in the more controlled manner we were expecting on Saturday.

This was the second European Championship running Maguire had been due to go into searching for fitness. He was given the opportunity last time, as fellow Yorkshireman Kyle Walker was in Qatar, and many of us assumed he would be again, especially with Marc Guehi and Lewis Dunk unconvincing in their England appearances this year, Jarrad Branthwaite limited to only 27 minutes and Jarell Quansah not even making it onto the field.

Maguire has been sacrificed so Southgate can gamble on Luke Shaw, the only specialist left-back in the provisional party. Two risks was one too many for him, even with three freebie squad places after UEFA's late decision not to restrict countries to 23 call-ups as initially planned.

Jack Grealish was a shock too, even though as reporters we had been openly discussing with Southgate at Middlesbrough's training ground on Sunday if the maverick was “on the cut-line” after an underwhelming finish to his Manchester City season.

Mr Cautious had snubbed a man he handed 36 caps to without ever seeming to completely warm to him in favour of Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer as the back-up between-the-lines players. Those four have just 15 caps and not a single tournament game between them.

“We just felt other players had stronger seasons particularly in the last six months or so,” he reasoned.

Up front, when everyone assumed it was a straight fight between Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney to understudy Harry Kane, he went for both.

In midfield, he picked a 19-year-old, Kobbie Mainoo, with two caps alongside a 20-year-old, Adam Wharton, who only made his international debut 63 minutes into Monday's friendly against Bosnia Herzegovina.

Wharton spent New Year's Day playing Championship football for Blackburn Rovers against Rotherham United but “he sees pictures early and can play forward”.

So can Trent Alexander-Arnold, a defender Southgate was always reluctant to pick at right-back because he was not good enough defensively, now repackaged as a midfielder to use his prowess on the ball.

This is probably Southgate's last tournament as England manager – that announcement has not been rushed forward yet – and it feels like he is going all in.

“I'm excited!” said Southgate when he announced his squad. We all should be.

This is a side packed with attacking talent from the creativity of the best player in the best team in England (Manchester City’s Phil Foden) to the best player in the best team in Europe (Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham), Harry Kane offers relentless reliability, Eberechi Eze thrilling unpredictability from the bench.

As for the defence… well, don’t worry about the defence.

Southgate has changed a lot from the cagey manager who guided England to a World Cup semi-final in his first tournament. Thursday might have been the day we finally noticed.