Football
Liam Twomey, Chelsea correspondent 6y

Joe Gomez, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham get England call-ups

Chelsea loanees Tammy Abraham and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have been handed their first senior England call-ups along with Liverpool defender Joe Gomez for the upcoming friendlies against Germany and Brazil, the Football Association has announced.

Abraham has been rewarded for a promising start to his Premier League career on loan at Swansea City, where he has registered four goals and one assist in 10 appearances, while Loftus-Cheek has made six Premier League appearances for Crystal Palace despite missing time with a thigh injury.

Gomez, meanwhile, has rebounded well since returning from a 15-month layoff with an ACL injury in January, starting seven times for Liverpool in the Premier League this season.

The inclusions of Abraham (20), Loftus-Cheek (21) and Gomez (20) headline what looks set to be a youthful squad for Gareth Southgate in the final international break of a year that has seen England win the World Cup at under-20 and U-17 level, as well as the Euro U-19 Championship.

"We've called three or four young players up and we think they're all talented," Southgate said. "They're all players who we've monitored right the way through our system so we know a lot about them. We feel now is a really good chance to have a look at them."

Manchester United's Ashley Young, who last played for his country in September 2013, has been rewarded for his resurgent form with a call-up, while Danny Rose and Jamie Vardy return from injury.

"His performances warrant it," Southgate added of Young. "We want to play with wing-backs. It's a role he can play very well on the left or right. Generally speaking we want to look at younger players but if a more senior player is playing well and warrants a call up, we should include him.

"He's a player every Manchester United manager has picked. That tells me something about the trust they have in him. I think the [wing-back] position suits him very well."

Liverpool duo Daniel Sturridge and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and United defender Chris Smalling have not been included.

Explaining his decision to omit Smalling, Southgate said: "I have huge respect for Chris. He's playing at a big club. [But] we want to play a certain way. The players I've brought in I want to see using the ball from the back, building up in a certain way. That's a style thing I want to have a look at."

Everton's Michael Keane, who has been struggling with a foot complaint, was another notable name missing, while Jermain Defoe, Aaron Cresswell, Fraser Forster and Jake Livermore are others from the previous squad to not be involved.

Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks was included after a fine debut at Lithuania, as was Manchester City's Fabian Delph, but Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott have not been included.

Asked about Arsene Wenger's claim that a fit Wilshere would get into any England team, Southgate said: "I don't know how you get in the England squad without getting in the Arsenal team.

"There's no question in our mind about Wilshere's football ability, his football brain. We just need to see him playing regular league football before we think it's right to put him back in. With his history of injuries, we want to make sure he's robust enough before we bring him in.

"I had a conversation with Arsene about him on Saturday. We think his ability is of a top player but for him it's just game time."

Information from the Press Association was used in this report.

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