Dominic Solanke has been recalled to the England squad by Lee Carsley, seven years after winning his first and only cap in a friendly against Brazil. The 27-year-old striker has been rewarded for his impressive form at Tottenham after joining from Bournemouth in a £55 million (€65 million) summer deal.
Harry Maguire, however, has been left out despite being declared fit to be included in the Manchester United squad to face Porto on Thursday night. The 31-year-old missed Euro 2024 because of injury but was recalled by Carsley for the two Nations League games in September. He started the game against Ireland in Dublin but did not feature against Finland at Wembley.
Carsley said of the decision to omit Maguire: “Harry’s a player I’ve worked with in the past. He was very positive in the conversation we had. I was wary about having conversations going on too long because he has a game tonight. It was a case of talking why the decision was made. We have some really good centre-backs that I’m keen to see play. Harry’s still got a really important part to play in this squad and campaign.”
There were also no places for Tino Livramento, Jarrod Bowen or Eberechi Eze but Kyle Walker returns after being left out of the squad in September. The full-back had not played any club football in the 2024-25 season by the time the squad was announced after an extended break following the Euros. Jude Bellingham is also back after missing the games against Ireland and Finland in September because of injury.
Solanke, who will hope to feature in the Nations League ties against Greece at Wembley next Thursday and Finland in Helsinki three days afterwards, has scored in his past three games for Spurs. Solanke enjoyed a hugely successful career at youth level with England, winning the European Under-17 Championship in 2014 and the Under-20 World Cup three years later but his only participation with the seniors remains his appearance under Gareth Southgate as a late substitute.
Solanke said recently that one of his principal ambitions for the season was to earn an England callup. “Everyone wants to play for their country and it’s definitely something I’m looking to get back into,” he said.
“Was England a part of the idea behind my transfer? Not really. But if you are doing your stuff for a club like Tottenham, it is definitely a lot easier to get into the fold. Tottenham is my main aim. But then hopefully I can get into the England team.” - Guardian
England squad
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle United)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Forwards: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham Hotspur), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
