West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen and Leicester defender James Justin have received their first England call-ups for the upcoming Uefa Nations League fixtures against Hungary (twice), Germany and Italy.
Bowen has been rewarded for his excellent form for West Ham, which earned him a nomination for Premier League player of the season, and has been selected ahead of Manchester United pair Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, who have not received an international recall.
England manager Gareth Southgate has also named Fikayo Tomori in his 27-man squad after the AC Milan defender missed out on March’s World Cup qualifiers, but Eric Dier and James Maddison, two players previously picked by Southgate who found form over the second half of the domestic season, miss out.
There is no place for Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who has been rested following a hectic domestic season that will see the 31-year-old feature in the Champions League final on Saturday, but right back Trent Alexander-Arnold has been included along with a host of players who return having missed out on the previous squad due to injury.
Reece James, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Kalvin Phillips and Bukayo Saka are joined by Tammy Abraham in being selected by Southgate, but Ollie Watkins, Emile Smith Rowe, Tyrone Mings, Tyrick Mitchell and Kyle Walker-Peters all drop out from March’s squad.
Bowen, who scored 18 goals in all competitions for West Ham this season, was set to be selected in March before the forward suffered a foot injury. “He’s a goal threat, direct and works incredibly hard for the team,” Southgate said. “He’s thoroughly deserved his call-up.”
Justin, meanwhile, has returned this season from a long-term injury and is expected to provide cover at left back in the absence of Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell.
England open the new Nations League campaign in Budapest against Hungary on Saturday 4 June, in a match that will be played behind closed doors due to “the discriminatory behaviour” of Hungary supporters at Euro 2020.
England’s home match against Italy, in what is a rematch of the Euro 2020 final, will also be held behind closed doors as punishment for the crowd disorder at Wembley before last summer’s final.
Southgate’s side will also face an away match against Germany and a home fixture against Hungary in the opening four games of Group A3 in the Nations League.
England squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale.
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Reece James, James Justin, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Fikayo Tomori, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Ben White.
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse.
Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Jarrod Bowen, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling.
