There are just months to go until Gareth Southgate names his England squad for Euro 2024. This summer’s tournament marks the manager’s fourth major competition as Three Lions boss, and as with every finals squad, there is bound to be room for a surprise or two.
Marcus Rashford famously forced his way into Roy Hodgson’s plans at Euro 2016 despite only scoring his first Premier League goals in late February, while Jude Bellingham proved age was just a number by making the Euro 2020 squad under Southgate at just 17.
Football FanCast has selected ten players who may just catch Southgate’s eye before he has to submit his 23-strong list to UEFA. For this list, we’ve selected players who don’t seem to currently be in the manager’s thinking, regardless of whether they’ve been selected in previous squads.
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So who could muscle their way onto the plane this summer?
Elijah Adebayo (Luton Town) Striker, 0 caps
Elijah Adebayo is having some season for Premier League relegation battlers Luton Town. He has shown all his qualities at the top level, with a hat-trick against Brighton and a goal at St James’ Park a week later, displaying the goalscoring prowess that helped the Hatters to the top flight in the first place.
Add that to his other strikes against the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City, and you have a proven goal threat, not to mention a downright nuisance. This could be the kind of chaos Southgate seeks to deploy against unsuspecting international defences if those we are used to seeing in the forward line are failing to perform.
Who knows what form he’ll be in come May, but if he keeps this up, he’ll almost certainly hand Southgate a decision to make.
Harvey Barnes (Newcastle United) Winger, 1 cap
Harvey Barnes is no stranger to Southgate, with the wide-man making plenty take notice of his performances during his time at Leicester City. That includes current club Newcastle United, who swooped for around £38m to bring him to Tyneside last summer.
He also already has an England cap to his name, making his only Three Lions appearance to date in a 3-0 friendly win over Wales in October 2020. While he has been left in the international wilderness since, he has not been helped by injuries.
Making his latest comeback for the Magpies in February’s 4-4 draw with Luton, Barnes helped his side by netting the all-important equaliser just minutes after coming on. If he can make a similar contribution to England from the bench, he may yet be a very useful weapon indeed for Southgate and co.
Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton) Defender, 0 caps
Jarrad Branthwaite has clearly caught Gareth Southgate’s eye – the Everton defender was called up to the senior side for their recent friendlies against Brazil and Belgium. However, questions have to be asked over the manager’s overall plans for him, after Branthwaite was left on the bench for the entirety of both matches.
His club form – including at PSV last season – has certainly warranted consideration at international level, and we have seen the defensive issues on show in the past couple of games, so it does seem odd that Southgate opted to omit Branthwaite from either starting XI and leave him on the sidelines, particularly given the injuries that befell the Three Lions squad over that period.
There is still time to show why he should be selected, but Southgate would have to do so without having granted the centre-back any minutes himself.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton) Striker, 11 caps (4 goals)
He may only have three league goals to his name this term, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin knows exactly what he is capable of. Perhaps crucially, Southgate knows this as well, having selected the Everton striker for Euro 2020 off the back of a 21-goal season in all competitions.
Constant injuries have befallen the Toffees ace ever since, but he has put his best string of games together for some time in recent months as he looks to spearhead Everton’s charge away from relegation trouble. In fact, he already has more appearances this term than in either of his previous two.
While his international experience thus far only amounts to a handful of caps and two substitute appearances at Euro 2020, there is no doubting he could be a valuable squad member – but he has a hell of a lot of work to do before making the 23.
Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) Midfielder, 2 caps
Eberechi Eze appears to be in a period of his career where he is improving all the time. Continuing to add goals to his game (he is more than halfway to last year’s total of ten), it is rather telling that Crystal Palace have only won once without him in the squad this term.
So with the 25-year-old looking like he is approaching the peak of his powers, Southgate could well be of the mind to at least call Eze up for the pre-tournament friendlies, though missing out on March’s internationals may throw this into doubt as the squad deadline approaches.
With only a pair of appearances off the bench for the Three Lions so far, it is difficult to argue that he hasn’t warranted another look in England colours ahead of the Euros, though time is running out.
Curtis Jones (Liverpool) Midfielder, 0 caps
Southgate would arguably overlook Curtis Jones’ apparent lack of experience at his peril. While he is yet to debut for the senior international side, Jones has truly broken through this season, having his most impactful campaign at Liverpool to date.
This comes after his heroics in the summer, where he was part of the England Under-21 side that went all the way in the U21 EURO – a campaign in which he played almost every minute as England won every game without conceding.
He has even been hailed as “super important” by Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, which only makes him harder to ignore. Compared to those in the current squad like Conor Gallagher and Jordan Henderson, who haven’t had the greatest seasons for their respective clubs, Jones may even be less of a wildcard and more of a perfectly viable option.
Max Kilman (Wolves) Defender, 0 caps
Max Kilman’s journey to Premier League stardom is certainly an unorthodox one. Wolves picked him up from non-league football and the defender has never looked back.
What’s more is that he has already started his international journey, despite having no England caps to his name. That’s because he has played competitively for England’s futsal team.
Perhaps even more bizarre is that if it weren’t for his futsal exploits, he’d already be an international footballer – for Ukraine. Kilman would be eligible through his father, who was born in the southern city of Odessa. However, because futsal falls under FIFA’s remit, he was unable to switch allegiance when Andriy Shevchenko wanted him to join the squad ahead of Euro 2020.
This leaves an opportunity for Gareth Southgate should Kilman appear on his radar ahead of the summer. Now captaining Wolves, Kilman has matured in the Molineux backline and has been watched by the Three Lions boss in the past, but he is yet to get the call-up he arguably deserves.
Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United) Midfielder, 2 caps
Kobbie Mainoo’s rise to prominence in an inconsistent Manchester United side could turn out to be his and England’s gain. The youngster made his first-team debut against Everton in late November and has since become an integral part of the squad, starting all of United’s last 12 Premier League games at the time of writing.
While there has been little to shout about for his club, he is no doubt one of its shining lights. Dramatic winner against Wolves aside, he has shown a maturity beyond his tender years to gain the trust of Erik ten Hag when he needed players to step up.
This notion will have only been enhanced following his stellar display against Belgium, when Southgate handed him a full debut after earning a cameo appearance against Brazil.
Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) Winger, 23 caps (3 goals)
Someone in dire need of a career renaissance, there may yet be time for Jadon Sancho to redeem himself before the start of Euro 2024 following his January move back to Borussia Dortmund.
Indeed, it was at the German giants he really made his name and earned his 23 caps to date, but his club and international careers have dwindled since.
He has only appeared once for the Three Lions since the Euro 2020 final, with last October marking two years without an England cap.
His return to Dortmund did see him record two assists in as many games before being struck by injury, but as mentioned, there is plenty of time to make an impact worthy enough to get into the manager’s good books. It seems a tall order right now, but Sancho might be in the environment that enables Southgate to take notice of him once again.
Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth) Striker, 1 cap
With his last – and only – cap coming in a 15-minute cameo appearance against Brazil in November 2017, returning to the England fold would represent quite the journey for the in-form Dominic Solanke.
He has since become the main man for Bournemouth having failed to force his way into the Liverpool setup and now appears as though he is playing his best football – only Erling Haaland and Ollie Watkins have more Premier League goals this season.
In fact, the form of Ollie Watkins – selected once again for March’s friendlies – is arguably the main barrier in his way. It would seem that the role as immediate backup to Harry Kane’s spot in the team is Watkins’ to lose at present, but Solanke and Ivan Toney will be waiting in the wings if Southgate fancies a change of heart.
