#2 James Ward-Prowse
A mainstay of England’s U21 side under the reign of Southgate, Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse is also no stranger to the England senior side, as he received his first cap in the March 2017 friendly game against Germany. Since then, the creative midfielder hasn’t been called back up, but that could all change this month.
Ward-Prowse has been in tremendous form for Southampton in recent weeks, particularly since new boss Ralph Hassenhutl took the reins at St. Mary’s. He’s scored 5 goals in his last 8 Premier League games, including an incredible free-kick against Manchester United, and appears to finally be living up to the great potential he showed a few years ago.
Southgate already knows what Ward-Prowse offers due to his familiarity with the player from the U21’s, and more to the point, the Saints youngster would provide England with a dead-ball specialist – something they’ve been lacking for arguably a decade now since the retirement of David Beckham. To see him return to the England squad now would not be a shock at all.