Cole Palmer & Rico Lewis receive maiden England call-up for November international break

Both players graduated from Manchester City academy

Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis have been called up for the England national team for the first time in their career. Ezri Konsa of Aston Villa is another player who received his maiden call-up for the senior team.

The addition of the trio for two Euro 2024 qualifiers follows the withdrawal of James Maddison, Callum Wilson and Lewis Dunk because of injury. Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham is doubtful for the games because of a shoulder injury.

England play Malta on 17 November and North Macedonia on 20 November.

Palmer and Lewis won the treble with Manchester City in the 2022-23 season. Palmer is a right-forward and Lewis is a versatile right-back, who also played as a defensive midfielder in some matches.

Riyad Mahrez's departure to the Saudi Pro League meant that Palmer was assured of more game time for the English champions. He was later sold to Chelsea towards the end of the transfer window.

Palmer, part of the Under-21s squad that won the European Championship in July, has been summoned by Gareth Southgate the morning after he scored a stoppage-time penalty for Chelsea to secure a 4-4 draw against his former club Manchester City.

Lewis has been promoted from the Under-21s despite starting only two Premier League games this season, one on the opening day. He is a versatile player who is generally deployed in midfield or as a full-back.

Konsa, who won the Under-20 World Cup in 2017, has played every minute of every Premier League game for Aston Villa. He is used by his club mainly as a centre-back but can also play at right-back.

England squad for November international break

Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)

Defenders: Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Rico Lewis (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Al-Ettifaq), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea)

Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)