5 players who could break into the England squad this week

#2: James Tarkowski

James Tarkowski made his England debut in March

A late contender for a World Cup squad berth, Burnley’s James Tarkowski ended up falling at the last hurdle, as he was named as one of the players on standby for a call-up if one of the squad members picked up an injury rather than in the squad itself. In the end, Tarkowski was the one forced to withdraw, as he was advised to have groin surgery to fix a hernia issue.

Prior to the injury though, there were some fans who felt Tarkowski had done enough to warrant a spot ahead of Phil Jones or Gary Cahill. He played well during his England debut against Italy in March – despite giving away a controversial penalty – and was the lynchpin of an incredibly tight Burnley defence that only conceded 39 league goals in the whole of 2017/18.

This season has seen Burnley’s defence breached a little more easily thus far – they’ve conceded 7 goals in their 3 games – but Tarkowski hasn’t really been at fault for any of them, and he’s also managed to score twice already, opening his account for Burnley after failing to find the net last season despite appearing 31 times.

Similarly to other defenders favoured by Southgate like John Stones and Harry Maguire, Tarkowski is surprisingly comfortable with the ball at his feet and can pick out a pass, but he’s also willing to get his hands dirty – he’s completed an average of 2.3 tackles per game thus far and has also won 7 aerial duels. At 25 years old he still has time to grow as a player, too – meaning it’s a no-brainer that he’ll be back in the England squad this week.