Ben Chillwell and Demarai Gray receive first England call-up as Luke Shaw withdraws with concussion

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Leicester City pair Demarai Gray and Ben Chilwell have been called up to England’s senior squad for the upcoming friendly against Switzerland.

Both Gray and Chilwell had originally been in England’s U21 squad which drew 0-0 with the Netherlands on Thursday and are set to play Latvia on Tuesday.

However, both have now been given their first call-ups to England’s first team with manager Gareth Southgate’s squad growing thin due to injuries.

Before a ball was kicked, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana of Liverpool dropped out from Southgate’s initial squad due to injuries with neither being directly replaced – though goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli did join the Three Lions.

And in England’s 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Uefa Nations League on Saturday, Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw had to be taken off midway through the second half due to a head injury.

It was later revealed Shaw had sustained a concussion and will return to Manchester United on Monday after another day at St. George’s Park for further rest and monitoring.

As a result, Chilwell has been drafted in to battle Danny Rose for the starting left wing-back spot for England’s game on Tuesday while Gray will offer some much-needed back up in attack.

When England’s squad for the two matches was first announced, some Leicester City fans were surprised to see neither Chilwell nor Gray included in the list after good starts to the season.

So far this season in the Premier League, Chilwell has created four chances for his Leicester team-mates and completed nine of his 16 attempted take-ons in his four appearances.

Defensively, the 21-year-old has won 10 aerial duels as well as seven tackles and made 12 clearances to help the Foxes gather six points from their opening four games.

Meanwhile, Gray has filled in nicely for Riyad Mahrez following the Algerian’s departure to Manchester City this summer.

The 22-year-old has completed 10 take-ons so far in the Premier League this season, the third-highest amount in the league – behind only Eden Hazard and Adama Traore who have completed 14 and 12 respectively.

“More than deserved” – Twitter reacts to Gray and Chilwell call-ups

With many feeling the pair were unfairly overlooked when Southgate first named his England squad, fans on Twitter were excited to see both Gray and Chilwell get their first senior call-ups.

The post Ben Chillwell and Demarai Gray receive first England call-up as Luke Shaw withdraws with concussion appeared first on Squawka News.



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