Abraham, Tomori and the English stars vying for international recognition
Ahead of Gareth Southgate's England squad announcement on Thursday, there are a number of players who have been impressing across Europe who perhaps warrant a first call up, or a return to the national fold.
Considering injuries to squad regulars Harry Maguire and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and fitness concerns surrounding Patrick Bamford and Mason Mount, among others, we take a look at those knocking on the door for the national team who perhaps deserve their shot at international recognition next month...
There is so often a promoted striker who adjust to the rigours of Premier League football with ease. Fortunately for Brentford fans, Ivan Toney appears to have made a sprint start to the campaign for the Bees. His previous experience in England's top tier amounts to 10 minutes with Newcastle in late sub outings against Chelsea and Manchester United back in 2015/16 and having impressed in the lower leagues, the 25-year-old has made the jump up in division look easy.
With two goals and two assists to his name, Toney has returned a WhoScored rating of 7.63, that better than any other Premier League player for the Bees this season. Harry Kane may be first choice for England, but with Dominic Calvert-Lewin sidelined and Leeds unlikely to release Patrick Bamford for international duty owing to an ankle problem, Toney may yet earn his first senior call up for the Three Lions this week.
Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace)
Joining on loan from Chelsea over the summer, Conor Gallagher couldn't have hoped for a better start to life at Selhurst Park. The midfielder has scored 10 league goals in his senior career, two of which have come in his opening five appearances this season for the Eagles. He has shown plenty of promise in the Chelsea youth ranks and previous loan stints with Charlton, Swansea and West Brom show why the Blues are keen to keep the midfielder on the books.
Gallagher has been just as impressive off the ball as he has in possession. Only Tyrick Mitchell (3.2) is making more tackles per game than the 21-year-old midfielder (2.2) of all Crystal Palace players in the Premier League this season. With Mason Mount a fitness concern, Gallagher could be a good fit for Gareth Southgate as the former's deputy this international break.
Everton paid just a reported £1.7m to sign Demarai Gray over the summer and just six games into the campaign, it is already looking like money well spent by the Toffees. Having fallen off the radar in recent years, few could have predicted such a resurgence from the 25-year-old, who has scored three goals and provided one assist for the high-flying Toffees in 2021/22.
With Raheem Sterling struggling for minutes, Jadon Sancho's terrible form and Marcus Rashford's ongoing spell on the sidelines, Gray is an in-form winger that Southgate certainly knows well. Indeed, it was Southgate who handed the wideman his England U21 debut back in 2016. The England boss then gave the Everton man a senior call up back in 2018, albeit without giving Gray any minutes for the side. Jamaica are known to be interested in calling up the Toffees star, so it could be now or never for Gray and England.
"Fikayo [Tomori], we have been monitoring very closely throughout his time at Milan," Gareth Southgate said earlier this month. The centre-back departed Chelsea for AC Milan on loan at the turn of the year with the option to make the move permanent. In June, the Serie A side exercised that option for £25m, a fee that looks a steal in the current market.
The 23-year-old has been a consistent performer at the heart of the Rossoneri defence following his January arrival and clearly his solid showings haven't gone unnoticed by Southgate. With Harry Maguire ruled out until next month with a calf issue, the looming international break presents Tomori with the perfect opportunity to stake a claim in the England setup in the long-term.
Another who has swapped England for Italy, Tammy Abraham isn't a stranger to the Three Lions setup having made his first competitive appearance under Southgate back in October 2019. However, a lack of game time under Thomas Tuchel following his January appointment all but spelt the end of Abraham's time at Stamford Bridge and while he could have played it safe and remained in the Premier League, the striker has tried his luck in Serie A.
The 23-year-old has excelled for Jose Mourinho's Roma side, having a direct hand in four goals, scoring two, in his opening six league appearances for the Giallorossi with a WhoScored rating of 7.50 the 10th best in Italy's top tier. "It’s early stages for Tammy at Roma and the league is a different sort of challenge having watched a fair bit in the last couple of years. But good for him, he needs to be playing," Southgate said of Abraham earlier this month and, like Toney, the young striker will hope fitness issues surrounding Calvert-Lewin and Bamford, coupled with his solid start to life in Italy, will see him return to the national fold.
