Ben White, Ben Godfrey and Aaron Ramsdale received their first England call-ups as Gareth Southgate selected Trent Alexander-Arnold among four right-backs in his provisional European Championship squad.
With the Three Lions dealing with issues such as injuries and European final absentees, the Football Association confirmed a larger provisional squad would be announced on Tuesday rather than the definitive group.
Southgate has named a 33-man party that will be trimmed down to 26 players on June 1, allowing him to include injury doubts such as Harry Maguire, Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips.
Manchester United teenager Mason Greenwood has been recalled for the first time since being sent home after his debut in Iceland.
Eric Dier misses out, but Alexander-Arnold returns to the group alongside fellow right-backs Reece James, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker. Bukayo Saka, Ollie Watkins and 17-year-old Jude Bellingham are among the others to get the nod.
“We have known for a while that we have, of this 33, 12 players still to play in European finals this week so we were always going to need some additional players for the first part of the camp.
“Add to that a number of injuries… so we felt that more time is going to help us make better decisions.”
“He is a man who I have tremendous respect for and has been a key player in some of our biggest games and biggest moments,” he said.
“Unfortunately I just don’t think his season has been long enough to be in the squad and that is a difficult call because I know how much he brings to the whole group.
“When you are at a tournament, the players who put the team first are critical. It wasn’t an easy conversation but he is an outstanding professional and took the news in a professional way.”
Ahead of naming his final #EURO2020 squad next week, Gareth Southgate has selected 33 players to join up with the #ThreeLions from this weekend as our preparations for this summer’s tournament get under way.
— England (@England) May 25, 2021
On uncapped duo White and Godfrey, Southgate added: “They are both exciting young defenders, there are others we have been looking at that we really like.
“These two are flexible, they play in different roles, this is a great opportunity to get to them a bit better for them to work with the team.
“There is no way of knowing how long they will be with us at this stage but it should be a fantastic experience for them.”
He said: “I don’t need to talk about Harry’s focus. He has got one goal with us and that’s to win a European Championship.
“What is going on at his club is a matter for him and Tottenham. He has made some statements in the last few days but that is out of the way now and I think it is very unlikely transfer deals will be done while we are away.
“We are not going to stop phone ringing and cannot control conversations going on in private. Most deals are done after tournaments or in the September, I would expect any deals to be done after the tournament.”
