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After another month of Premier League action, it’s almost time for the October international break, believe it or not. England don’t actually play their next game – a Euro 2020 qualifier against the Czech Republic – until Friday, 11th October, but Gareth Southgate is all set to name his squad for the two upcoming games this Thursday.
After a couple of surprises in the squad for September’s games – most notably a call-up for Aston Villa centre-back Tyrone Mings and the first caps for Chelsea’s midfield prospect Mason Mount – Southgate’s selection for the games was largely conservative, with both Mings and James Maddison missing out on maiden caps.
This time around though, the Three Lions boss might be more inclined to rock the boat a little – largely because England have for all intents and purposes already qualified, winning four games out of four thus far. With that in mind then, which new players are likely to be called up this time around?
Here are 5 youngsters who could be called up to the England squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers.
#1 Fikayo Tomori
England’s last match against Kosovo might’ve gone to plan in terms of the result – a win for the Three Lions – but the performance of the team probably didn’t make boss Gareth Southgate too happy. England were highly questionable in defence in the 5-3 victory, and in all honesty could’ve conceded more than the three goals that they actually did.
Centre-back Michael Keane, in particular, came under fire for his massive error that led to Kosovo’s opening goal, with some fans openly questioning his international future.
With fellow centre-back John Stones out with an injury and Joe Gomez not being picked by Liverpool right now, the window must surely be open for a new defender – and who better than Chelsea youngster Fikayo Tomori?
Tomori has been tremendous for Frank Lampard’s Blues over the past few games, most notably shackling Mo Salah in Chelsea’s recent loss to Liverpool, and the former England U21 international even scored his first Chelsea goal last month, a long-range screamer against Wolves.
Perhaps the most important thing though is the fact that he fits the bill of what Southgate looks for in a defender – not only is he tricky to beat, but his pass success rate of 88.7% is remarkably high and puts him above Keane and even Harry Maguire in that category.
With Lampard reportedly stating that the defender is now part of his first-choice starting XI, surely it’s time to give him a go for England, too. The fact that Nigeria are also considering an attempt to call him up should only hasten Southgate’s decision.
#2 Jack Grealish
Fans have considered Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish a future England star for a long time now, and during the Villains’ rise up the table in the Championship last season, culminating in their promotion via the Playoffs, the clamour only got louder.
The attacking midfielder was arguably Villa’s key man and once he returned from injury in March they went on a 10-game winning streak, with Grealish scoring 4 goals and setting up many more.
It is true that Grealish hasn’t had it all his own way since the Premier League season started – Villa currently sit 18th in the table and have found life in the top flight hard to adjust to – but his performances have steadily improved since August and he definitely looks like one of the Villains’ most dangerous players, chipping in with two assists thus far and two goals in the EFL Cup.
More intriguingly, Grealish could offer something to England that no other midfielder really does right now; where the likes of Mason Mount and Ross Barkley use incisive passing to break open a defence, Grealish lets his dribbling do the talking, averaging 1.7 successful dribbles per game thus far. He also draws fouls like few other players – 28 thus far in just 7 games.
Would Grealish be a starter for England? Likely not, but his performances have earned him a call-up at least and the chance to send him on as a substitute to dribble at tired defenders would definitely be a weapon that Southgate could use - particularly against weaker international defences.
#3 Todd Cantwell
Norwich’s Todd Cantwell only received his first call-up to England’s U21 squad in September, but after the way he’s been performing in the Premier League for the Canaries in recent weeks, there’s definitely an argument to suggest he deserves a spot in the senior side for the upcoming fixtures.
A lot of fans feel that the England squad should be based on form, and if that’s the case, it’s hard to ignore the 21-year-old.
Cantwell has played just 7 Premier League games but has already registered two goals and two assists, and most notably he’s a tremendous passer of the ball – with an 81% success rate and an average of 1.4 key passes per game.
Perhaps the biggest plus point for the youngster is the fact that he seems totally at home on the big stage. It’s never easy adjusting from a season in the Championship to Premier League action, but Cantwell has never looked overawed and arguably had his finest game against Norwich’s toughest opponents – champions Manchester City, who were upset in a 3-2 thriller that saw Cantwell find the net.
It’s true that England are blessed with a large number of top-class wide forwards and wingers right now – Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho are two of the hottest properties in European football – but Gareth Southgate has been known to reward form before, and to see Norwich’s tyro called into the squad – even if he isn’t capped – wouldn’t be too jaw-dropping.
#4 Aaron Ramsdale
Jordan Pickford is undoubtedly England’s #1 goalkeeper right now, and even though he’s had the odd wobble at Everton, it’d be hard to shake him from the spot as he’s performed so well for England over the past two years – including helping them to two rare penalty shoot-out victories.
But the race to become Pickford’s back-up – likely earning a handful of caps in the process – is definitely tight right now.
The last England squad saw Southgate call up Nick Pope of Burnley and Tom Heaton of Aston Villa, but there are certainly other keepers waiting in the wings for one of those slots – and perhaps top of the list right now is Bournemouth’s Aaron Ramsdale. The 21-year old has been an ever-present for the Cherries thus far in an impressive run that’s seen them rise to 8th in the Premier League.
It is true that Ramsdale has conceded 12 goals thus far – not the best statistic given Pope, Heaton and fellow youngster Dean Henderson have let in less – but Ramsdale has also made the most saves this season of any English goalkeeper, with a total of 27 thus far.
He also ranks highly in terms of successful punches (5), successful throw outs (37) and is almost definitely the only keeper with an assist to his name!
Add in the fact that Southgate has traditionally favoured youth over experience when it comes to picking his squads – and Pope and Heaton are both far older at 27 and 33 respectively – and there’s definitely an argument for Ramsdale being called into the squad, even if he’s only a backup to Pickford.
#5 Tammy Abraham
Okay, so it is true that Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has already been called up by England before; he received two caps while playing on loan at Swansea in late 2017, appearing in the friendly games against Germany and Brazil. But that was a long time ago – and can there really be any doubt that the Blues hitman now deserves another bite of the apple?
Simply put, Abraham has been one of the Premier League’s hottest strikers thus far in 2019/20, scoring 7 goals in just 6 starts for Frank Lampard’s side, including a tremendous hat-trick against Wolves. But it’s not just Abraham’s goalscoring exploits that warrant an England call-up – it’s his overall improvement, too.
Abraham proved he was an expert poacher during his loan season at Bristol City back in 2016/17, but he struggled on loan at Swansea City a season later, playing in a side who were unable to create many chances.
At Aston Villa in the Championship last season however, Abraham showed marked improvement to lead the line and score 26 goals – and already this season he’s showing signs of being able to carve out his own chances; witness his brilliant second goal against Norwich or his third against Wolves.
With Harry Kane being England’s only proven out-and-out goalscorer, there’s definitely a spot to fill in the Three Lions’ squad. Gareth Southgate seems to view Marcus Rashford more as a wide forward and while Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson has also been impressive, he’s also 6 years older than Abraham and somewhat injury prone.
With the Chelsea striker looking to confirm his international future as lying with England, surely this month is the right time for Southgate to call him up again – and give him his first competitive caps.
