Declan Rice is in line for his first England call-up on Wednesday for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro – a day after he was named as the Republic of Ireland’s young player of the year.
Gareth Southgate will announce his squad at St George’s Park and Rice is set to be included after the West Ham midfielder switched his international allegiance from Ireland.
Rice was on Tuesday named as Ireland’s young player of the year, despite having chosen not to play for the country again. The award was voted for by the Soccer Writers’ Association of Ireland. “At the time of the vote, Declan Rice was an Ireland international and qualified for the young player category in a year that saw him win three senior caps,” the Football Association of Ireland said.
The Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton is set to be recalled by Southgate after missing the World Cup because of injury and starting the season behind Joe Hart at Turf Moor.
The in-form Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse is under serious consideration, two years after winning his only cap, and Southgate is weighing up selection issues surrounding several of England’s Under-21 players.
Crystal Palace’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka and the Southampton goalkeeper Angus Gunn are highly rated by the England manager, but preparations for the Under-21 European Championship this summer may well take precedence if injuries do not bite the senior side.
Among other players to have been monitored is the uncapped Wolves captain Conor Coady. England play at home against the Czech Republic a week on Friday and in Montenegro three days later.