Predicting the next ten England debutants under Southgate replacement ahead of 2026 World Cup
Eddie Howe is not the only Newcastle employee England should be looking at. The 2026 World Cup cycle should have room for a couple of Liverpool midfielders.
10) James Trafford
It remains to be seen what happens at club level to Trafford, the keeper eventually dropped by relegated Burnley last season but targeted by Newcastle for up to £30m. The manager who signed, stood by and then scrapped him has since joined Bayern Munich, so anything is possible.
Trafford will play for England eventually; his membership to the Joe Lewis and David Stockdale support group is only temporary. His pedigree at youth level makes it so, winning the U21 Euros in 2023 without conceding a single goal, saving a penalty and the subsequent rebound in the last minute of the final.
That contributed to his place in the provisional squad for the senior tournament a year later when Sam Johnstone withdrew through injury, but on those rare occasions Jordan Pickford does not play, it is Aaron Ramsdale who currently steps and generally slips up.
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9) Archie Gray
“My childhood dream was to win the Champions League with Leeds, captain England at senior level and win a Ballon d’Or,” said Gray in December. He turned 18 three months later and reality soon hit to the extent that he joined Tottenham for £30m, moving negligibly closer to achieving two of those ambitions while abandoning the other pipedream.
Gray has made it expressly clear that he plans not to follow the family tradition of representing Scotland and 24 caps at six different age groups for England show a direct pathway into the senior side. There are only two questions: when and where?
A promising start to life at Tottenham would help answer the first, while impressing at right-back and in central midfield for club and country so far slightly obscures the second. Anyone else up for another “experiment” at the World Cup?
8) Lloyd Kelly
Gareth Southgate literally took one left-back to Euro 2024 and his physical issues were such that his only start came in the final, so the injury which finally broke an English centre-half duopoly which had persisted through three consecutive tournaments must have been fairly substantial.
John Stones and Harry Maguire’s partnership endured for years but this is a watershed moment and Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa are happily swearing past 9pm, baby. Jarrad Branthwaite can be factored back in soon and Fikayo Tomori will still be ignored because the form over reputation debate always needs fuel.
Lloyd Kelly has not really been on the England radar since the disastrous U21 Euros in 2021 but a move to Newcastle immediately boosts prospects which were naturally relatively high because of his ability to play at left-back. If being able to provide cover in two positions which need to evolve wasn’t already enough, the Eddie Howe factor works in favour of a 25-year-old who will become captain when the only man more perfectly suited to the England manager’s job than Gareth Southgate finally accepts his fate.
7) Tino Livramento
“He’ll be unbelievable for Newcastle in the future and an England right-back as well,” said Kieran Trippier in March, offering an unnecessarily but undeniably authoritative voice of support behind his teammate. Livramento is a Newcastle right-back who can but probably shouldn’t play on the left: The Prophecy will be realised.
The 21-year-old might already have established himself in the England picture without that long-term knee injury but having overcome that setback and settled into the Newcastle side, it should only be a matter of time before he is left assuming his international call-up is a prank.
6) Elliot Anderson
Having experienced both set-ups at youth level and been publicly courted by the managers of both senior teams, the simple and inescapable choice is Anderson’s to make: stability and strong vibes with England, or chaos and supporting every team England face with Scotland.
Few expected the decision to fall to a £30m midfielder but the PSR gods demanded a sacrifice and it was far less egregious than many others made so far this summer. While Newcastle was a more favourable platform with a brighter spotlight, Nottingham Forest offered the opportunity to become a regular Premier League starter and that should keep the decision over his international representation squarely in Anderson’s hands.
5) Harvey Elliott
The key factor is that England midfield; no other position was transformed quite so significantly between tournaments. In the space of 18 months a World Cup selection of Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson, Kalvin Phillips, Mason Mount, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, James Maddison and Conor Gallagher became Rice, Bellingham, Gallagher, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton at the Euros.
When Southgate eventually stumbled and settled on that pairing of Rice and Mainoo it looked excellent at times but familiar shortcomings were exposed by Spain in the final. England lacked control, composure and really much of anything in the centre.
Whether Elliott can even remedy that is unknown but his versatility and steady growth into a key Liverpool player has added weight to international credentials which have been touted for years, since long before the World Cup in Qatar. Jurgen Klopp thinks “he has everything you need” and as the future England manager that feels pertinent.
4) Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
“By doing well for my club, maybe I get into the England international setup,” said Dewsbury-Hall in late June, perfectly capturing the banality of call-ups on one hand, while perhaps teasing a move which would be completed within the week on the other. The fact remains that when “my club” is Chelsea rather than Leicester, chances are boosted.
And Dewsbury-Hall is far less likely to be lost in the Stamford Bridge shuffle when reunited with old manager Enzo Maresca, who helped turn the 25-year-old into a Championship winner and Leicester Player of the Season.
3) Max Kilman
As A Left-Footed Centre-Half, the qualifications of Kilman cannot be doubted. His impressive past in futsal prevented a switch in allegiance to Ukraine ahead of the last Euros and a £40m move to West Ham puts a player already on the England radar firmly front and centre of the chasing pack for a place.
While Jarell Quansah was part of the preparation this summer and Tosin Adarabioyo might soon enter the field having joined Chelsea, it feels like Kilman has quietly built some impressive foundations from which he could launch his career after linking up with Julen Lopetegui in east London again.
2) Curtis Jones
Another member of that preliminary squad for Euro 2024, Jones was one of the first cut and did not feature in either warm-up friendly. With four trophies and more than 100 appearances for Liverpool his absence from England squads has been more than a little curious but this midfield revolution could present an opportunity.
Mainoo and Wharton breaking through has shown that the door is open for Alex Scott, Jacob Ramsey and others if they can force the situation. A positive start under Arne Slot would ensure Jones is not passed over again.
1) Lewis Hall
That English left-back pool is shallow. Not quite as drastically as Southgate seemed to think – Tyrick Mitchell was right there and Dan Burn would at least have been fun – but if Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill cannot pull themselves together then the next cabs off the rank are probably Rico Henry, Alfie Doughty and Charlie Taylor. Even Ashley Young and James Milner should probably keep their phones on them.
The emergence of Hall in his debut Newcastle season came too late for Germany but if that run of starts at the end of the campaign translates to a regular place in 2024/25 then expect a good old-fashioned fast-tracking when Erik ten Hag disintegrates Luke Shaw’s hamstrings again.
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