Southampton: Redmond and Ward-Prowse called up by England for Nations League finals

Southampton players Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse have both been called up into England’s latest squad for the Nations League finals in June.

The duo have been rewarded for superb upturns in form in the second half of the 2018/19 season by national team boss Gareth Southgate.

Ward-Prowse was most recently involved with the senior England side back in March with a nine minute cameo in the 5-1 European Championship Qualifying win over Montenegro.

Redmond’s only senior cap came back in 2017 against Germany but his rise to becoming a key man in attack for Saints may well see him involved more regularly from now on.

Both men will now prepare to play a part as England face the Netherlands and potentially Portugal or Switzerland in the first ever finals of the Nations League.

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Southgate has named a strong side considering that many of his players will be involved in the Europa League and Champions League finals on 29th May and 1st June respectively.

Spurs striker Harry Kane is perhaps the biggest surprise after struggling with an ankle injury recently, but his recovery is rumoured to have him in contention to face Liverpool in Madrid.

For Redmond and Ward-Prowse, this taste of international action should act as another motivation to push on again during the next campaign.

Both players have thrived under Ralph Hasenhuttl at St Mary’s and could benefit long-term from Southgate’s open selection choices if they continue to perform well into the future.

England squad in full

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke City), Tom Heaton (Burnley), Jordan Pickford (Everton)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Leicester City), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Michael Keane (Everton), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Chelsea), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Nathan Redmond (Southampton), Declan Rice (West Ham United), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Harry Winks (Tottenham Hotspur)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Callum Wilson (Bournemouth).