On the very afternoon his new four-year contract was made official by the FA, Gareth Southgate has named the 25-man squad he will have at his disposal for England’s upcoming Nations League ties against Croatia and Spain.
Along with the usual suspects, there is a light smattering of exciting new inclusions – with Southgate handing first senior call-ups to Leicester City tyro James Maddison, 21, and Chelsea youngling Mason Mount, 19, who is playing well on loan at Derby County at the moment.
There is also a nod for ex-Man City prodigy Jadon Sancho, 18, who is going great guns with Borussia Dortmund this season – thus potentially making him the first player born post-Millennium to play for England.
Southgate on new boys @Madders10, Mason Mount and @Sanchooo10: “They’re exciting young players and it’s a great opportunity for us to look at them.”#threelionshttps://t.co/A9bQmfGheU
— England (@England) October 4, 2018
Several other uncapped players are also involved: Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli, Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and Watford midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah making up the sextet of debutantes.
Elsewhere, with injuries to Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Fabian Delph and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ross Barkley has squirrelled his way back into an England squad for the first time returns since May 2016.
The England squad in full…
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland, Alex McCarthy, Marcus Bettinelli
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Danny Rose, James Tarkowski, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier
Midfielders: Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley, Eric Dier, Nathaniel Chalobah, James Maddison, Mason Mount, Harry Winks,
Forwards: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Danny Welbeck, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho
England are due to face Croatia in Rijeka on Friday 12th October before whisking their way to Sevilla where they’ll play Spain on Monday 15th October.