Cole Palmer called up by England after his brilliant Chelsea form impressed Gareth Southgate, with Man City’s Rico Lewis also promoted to injury-hit senior squad for first time

Gareth Southgate is utilising the England Under-21 talent pool again by selecting Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis for this camp’s European Championship qualifiers.

Both graduates of Manchester City’s academy, the pair have been given debut call ups to the seniors after impressing this season.

Palmer is flourishing after a £42.5million move away from City to Chelsea, scoring a dramatic late equaliser from the spot against his old club in Sunday’s pulsating 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.

The 21-year-old’s decision to leave the Etihad Stadium has already been vindicated, with more Premier League starts and four goals to his name.

Lewis has 12 league starts under his belt – with the pair amassing just 21 between them – but has earned consistent praise from Pep Guardiola for his versatility and maturity.

Rico Lewis was rewarded with a  new five-year deal in the summer after his breakout year

Southgate has opted to fill the gaps in his injury-hit squad with players from the youth set up

Performances in the Champions League will have been enough for Southgate to promote the 18-year-old, who excelled during always trips to RB Leipzig and Young Boys.

There had been growing calls for the youngsters to be handed a chance at senior level. With England already qualified for next summer’s Euros, Southgate has taken the chance to look closely at their development.

The England boss was pictured greeting both players in the St George’s Park gym during last month’s camp and they could now be set for debuts against either Malta or North Macedonia.

Lee Carsley’s Under 21s will call up replacements before their Euro 2025 qualifiers with Serbia and Northern Ireland, as the defending champions look to bounce back from a shock defeat by Ukraine last month.