Jadon Sancho would have earned England call-up regardless of injuries, insists Gareth Southgate

The 18-year-old Sancho is one of three uncapped youngsters included in Southgate’s squad for forthcoming Nations League ties against Croatia and Spain

Jadon Sancho has been handed his first England call-up (Getty)

Jadon Sancho would have earned his first England call-up regardless of injuries to other players and can make an immediate impact at international level, says Gareth Southgate.

The 18-year-old Sancho is one of three uncapped youngsters included in Southgate’s squad for forthcoming Nations League ties against Croatia and Spain.

Mason Mount, 19, and James Maddison, 21, also received their first senior call-ups, while 23-year-old Nathaniel Chalobah returns hoping to make his international debut.

The decision to select Borussia Dortmund’s Sancho is the most eye-catching, however, coming a year on from the youngster’s departure from Manchester City.

Sancho left in search of first-team football and has since established himself at Westfalenstadion, making nine appearances for Lucien Favre’s side so far this season.

Only two of those nine appearances came as starts, but Sancho’s tally of eight assists is more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues.

Southgate sent assistant Steve Holland - “with a flat cap and glasses on” - to watch Sancho’s progress in Germany and is confident he can adapt quickly to international football.

The England manager admitted that while injuries in midfield had opened doors for the likes of Mount and Maddison, Sancho had done enough to be selected in his own right.

“He has real presence with the way he plays, tremendous pace, he’s showing good decision making with his selection of passes and around the final third,” Southgate said.

“He’s diligent without the ball, so he is not just a player who floats around and plays when he has the ball.

“In the team he is playing in he has big responsibility without the ball so his progress, even in his short progress since the last camp, has been very high.

“We wanted to give ourselves a little bit of time with the younger players because September was only a few games into the season and with the continuity of the squad.

“With the midfield players the opportunity has been presented through injury but with Jadon I just think he is playing extremely well and I think he can have an impact with us.”

Speaking separately to BBC Radio Five Live, Southgate added: “With Jadon, I think we would be putting him in the squad regardless of injuries. He's a player that excites us a lot.”

Full England squad:

Goalkeepers: Marcus Bettinelli (Fulham), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Alex McCarthy (Southampton), Jordan Pickford (Everton)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), James Tarkowski (Burnley), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Ross Barkley (Chelsea), Nathaniel Chalobah (Watford), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (on loan at Derby County from Chelsea), Harry Winks (Tottenham Hotspur)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), James Maddison (Leicester City), Marcus Rashford, (Manchester United), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)