Chelsea midfielders Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher have both been named in the England squad for the forthcoming friendlies against Switzerland and the Ivory Coast, and there is also a call-up for Reece James despite his recent injury issues.
Mount has established himself as a key figure in the Three Lions squad during Southgate's reign. He has won 26 caps since making his debut in 2019 and was a regular starter during last summer's European Championship.
“He is an exceptional player," Southgate said of the 23-year-old last year. "He finds space intelligently. He manipulates the ball very well. He creates chances and he scores goals."
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Gallagher is selected for England duty for just the second time. The 22-year-old, who is enjoying a fine campaign on loan at Crystal Palace, earned his first call-up in November and made his debut in the 10-0 World Cup qualifying victory over San Marino.
There remains an expectation at Chelsea that Gallagher will be incorporated into the first-team squad next season. Thomas Tuchel has been hugely impressed by the impact the academy graduate has made at Selhurst Park and has suggested the midfielder can deliver back at Stamford Bridge.
"He was impressive in [our] pre-season but the opportunity came and Crystal Palace offered him a role which he took," the Blues head coach said in February. "You see what it does to a player if they are needed, if they are playing an important role.
"He was not just offered that role, he took it and he took it with quality, with the energy he has, and now he took several steps in his development which is quite impressive."
"The season is by far not over and he needs to finish the season with Crystal Palace in the best possible way and we will see what he wants, what we want, and then we will have a talk and decide. But I’m happy that he’s our player."
James' selection is unlikely to have gone down well at Chelsea and with Tuchel given the full-back has missed the last three matches due to an injury sustained during his comeback from a two-month absence because of a torn hamstring.
Meanwhile, Marc Guehi, who joined Chelsea aged seven before leaving last summer for Crystal Palace, earns his first call-up and it is just reward for his fine form this term.
The centre-back has played all but one of Palace's 28 Premier League matches and has also captained the Eagles. His development has been rapid and fortunately for Chelsea, they did include a sell-on clause and matching rights in the £20million deal that took him to Selhurst Park.
Tammy Abraham was another academy graduate who departed last summer; the striker moved onto Roma in a transfer worth £35million. In the Italian captain, Abraham is working under former Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho and has discovered his best form over the last three months.
The 24-year-old has netted 13 times in Serie A this term but nine of those have come in his last 12 matches. He has 20 goals across all competitions. Abraham has been in and out of the England squad since making his debut back in 2017. But he was selected for the Three Lions' previous set of fixtures and got on the scoresheet against San Marino.
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Coady (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Ben White (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace, loan from Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham United), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
Forwards: Tammy Abraham (AS Roma), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
