Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings has been included in Gareth Southgate's England squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers with Bulgaria and Kosovo.
The Aston Villa defender, signed for £20m from Bournemouth this summer, is in the squad with right-back Kyle Walker surprisingly left out.
Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks was recalled and Liverpool's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was also named in the squad, despite making just two starts since suffering a serious knee injury in April 2018.
Southgate has brought Kieran Trippier back into the fold after omitting him from the Nations League squad and there is a maiden call-up for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, leaving World Cup semi-finalist Walker conspicuous by his absence from the 25-man squad.
Fellow Manchester City defender John Stones, who has had a thigh problem, also missed out while Chelsea playmaker Mason Mount and Leicester's James Maddison have both previously been part of the senior squad and have been included for the upcoming qualifiers.
England squad:
📝 Gareth Southgate has named his 25-man squad for England's games against Bulgaria and Kosovo...
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) August 29, 2019
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Southgate said a mixture of current fitness and taking a chance on young players were driving factors in his squad selection.
"We only have eight matches before I name the squad for the European Championship," Southgate said.
"September's squad is quite a difficult one with the limited number of games at club level.
"We learned some lessons from last September on the importance of physical fitness at this time of year, also some exciting players we wanted to look at and involve and we look forward to seeing them on the grass this week."
Wan-Bissaka joined Manchester United from Crystal Palace in the summer and Southgate explained his inclusion, while Manchester City defender Walker was left out.
"We tracked him very closely last year and thought he had an outstanding season last season, but he should stay with the under-21 group," the Three Lions boss said.
"He's adapted very well to a high profile move with the intensity and pressure and we are really looking at him and Trent (Alexander-Arnold).
"We also want to reintegrate Kieran Trippier into the group to know he's still on our radar.
"It's an area of the pitch where we have a lot of quality. Kyle started the season really well so I explained the situation to him. They all have different strengths."
Southgate also thinks the different approach to team selection to bring in more inexperienced players will reap dividends in the future.
He said: "We have competition for places and we have got a depth of talent now because we have approached it slightly differently to look at younger players.
"It means we lack some experience in some positions but means we keep evolving as a team.
"We can't stand still and there are young players coming through for the long term for England and we need to start integrating them."
On the inclusion of Aston Villa defender Mings, Southgate said of the 26-year-old: "I watched him last year and wanted to see how he adapted to the Premier League.
"He's an interesting case as he entered the game a bit later and hasn't played as much as a centre-back.
"He had a big injury at Bournemouth but I really like his leadership qualities.
"He's an outstanding athlete and I see a lot of potential and time for growth given the number of games he's played."
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