Gareth Southgate has included a former Gravesend schoolboy in his initial England squad for this summer’s Euro 2024 Championships.
Southgate named a 33-man squad on Tuesday and included Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi as part of the preliminary group named, ahead of a final selection for the summer tournament.
England will play friendly matches against Bosnia (June 3) and Iceland (June 7) ahead of the announcement of Southgate’s final 26-man squad.
The Three Lions play games against Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia in the group stage of the Euro 2024 championship.
Guehi is rumoured to be leaving Crystal Palace this summer, one of several bright young talents at the club. Four Palace players are in the initial squad.
The 23-year-old was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast but moved to England as an infant. He attended St George’s CofE School, in Gravesend.
As a six-year-old, he joined the Cray Wanderers’ youth team and stayed there for a couple of years before signing on at Chelsea. He moved to Palace in 2021.
Guehi has played in the England youth ranks since the under-16 age group and was part of the team that won the FIFA under-17 World Cup.
His first call up to the England senior team came in March 2022 and made his debut against Switzerland. He’s made nine appearances for the senior national team.
He played the full match in both Euro qualifiers against North Macedonia and Malta back in November and prior to that was a substitute in the fixture against Italy.
A knee injury meant he was unavailable for the recent friendly matches against Belgium and Brazil.
Missing out is another player who spent his early years in Kent, Fikayo Tomori. He lived for a time in Gravesend and attended the grammar school there, playing football for Riverview United before committing to Chelsea.
The 26-year-old, now at AC Milan, has five caps for England but wasn’t included in the squad for games at the end of March against Brazil and Belgium. He last played for Southgate’s side in November, playing half a game against Malta in a qualifying game for the Euros.
Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson are higher-profile players who have both been left out.
England’s provisional squad;
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), James Trafford (Burnley).
Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace).
Forwards: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
