Southgate: Cole's form & ability led to him being called up, while Raheem's absence is merely a tactical decision.

Gareth Southgate has revealed why he called up Cole Palmer ahead of his Chelsea team-mate Raheem Sterling in the latest England squad - he wants to see the youngster in a No.10 role. Palmer is one of three uncapped players due to a number of more established players being unavailable due to injury; Jude Bellingham and James Maddison, both of whom are advanced central midfielders, were forced to withdraw due to shoulder and ankle ligament damage respectively.

Despite Sterling's form and long history with the Three Lions, Southgate opted to include Palmer instead, believing he is capable of playing in a more central role. ‘In terms of Cole, the key was [we] lost Maddison and Jude so we wanted somebody who could play as a 10,’ Southgate explained. ‘Of course, he’s playing wider at the moment for his club, but we hadn’t lost a winger as such, we’d lost two attacking midfield players. So we’ve got a couple of players now who can fulfil that sort of role for these games.’

Southgate also revealed his views on Rico Lewis, another uncapped player in the squad. With Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell both injured, Southgate believes Lewis could fill in as a left-back, though he feels his long-term future lies in central midfield. ‘With Rico, at the moment we just see a very good footballer,’ he said. ‘So I think he’s probably happiest as an eight, talking to him, but he’s obviously played either full-back position. Quite often at Man City, that’s the full-back going into midfield. So he’s a young player we thought it would be good to have some time with us and we’d be able to get a feel of his attributes and we’d be able to work with him closely.’

It is clear that Southgate has chosen to inject some youth into his squad, with Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis and Ezri Konsa all getting a chance to prove their worth. The England boss has made it clear that he believes Palmer and Lewis can fulfil a variety of roles and that their long-term futures lay in central midfield and full-back positions respectively. With the current injury crisis, these three uncapped players could provide a valuable contribution to the Three Lions.

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