In announcing his squad tomorrow, Gareth Southgate has the luxury of being able to select from more home-grown Premier League starters than any England manager since 2005.
The number of English players starting top-flight games this season stands at 41.2 per cent, which is the highest level for 16 years and illustrates a rich pool of talent at the disposal of the national team.
The figure does not account for Jude Bellingham, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder, who is likely to be recalled for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and San Marino having been rested for last month’s fixtures.
Fikayo Tomori, the AC Milan defender, and Tammy Abraham, the Roma forward, have also been part of Southgate’s recent plans.
A breakdown of the statistics shows that 436 players have been used in the top flight this term, of which 35.6 per cent have been English. A total of 376 players have started games, of which 41.2 per cent have been home-grown.
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Sven-Goran Eriksson was the most recent England manager to have more home-grown stars at his disposal when he had 41.8 per cent of top-flight starters to pick from in 2004-05.
The array of options is a boon to Southgate, whose side host Albania next Friday at Wembley before travelling to San Marino, where they can seal qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
England beat Andorra and drew with Hungary last month, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harry Maguire, Kalvin Phillips, Marcus Rashford and Reece James all missing through injury. Mason Greenwood, the Manchester United striker, was rested along with Bellingham.
All seven players are expected to be available again, leaving Southgate with some difficult choices on whom to stand by and whom to cut.
Jesse Lingard, who was substituted after 73 minutes of England’s 5-0 win over Andorra, has played only 18 minutes for Manchester United since then. Similarly, his clubmate Jadon Sancho has played 85 minutes for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side since setting up two goals for England in that victory.
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Southgate rallied behind Sancho last month despite his lack of minutes for United, insisting it was right to show faith in the £73 million winger.
Emile Smith Rowe and Conor Gallagher, who have impressed for Arsenal and Crystal Palace respectively this season, have been included in the under-21s recently. Lee Carsley’s side host the Czech Republic next Thursday, and the head coach will name his squad on Friday for the 2023 European Championship qualifier.
