Jude Bellingham called up to England squad after James Ward-Prowse and Trent Alexander-Arnold injured

17-year-old midfielder joins up with senior squad for first time

England midfielder Jude Bellingham (Getty Images)

Jude Bellingham has been called up to the England senior squad for the first time following the withdrawal of James Ward-Prowse and Trent Alexander-Arnold through injury.

The 17-year-old midfielder was promoted from the Under-21s by Gareth Southgate ahead of Thursday’s friendly against the Republic of Ireland and the Nations League clashes with Belgium and Iceland.

Bellingham has made 11 appearances for Borussia Dortmund this season having joined the Bundesliga club from Birmingham City in a £22.75m deal during the summer.

The teenager is one of the most highly-rated young talents to emerge within English football over the last few years and replaces Southampton midfielder Ward-Prowse, who has withdrawn from the squad as a precautionary measure with a tight injury.

Alexander-Arnold was not expected to remain with the senior squad after suffering a calf injury during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon that is expected to sideline him for up to four weeks.

Marcus Rashford, meanwhile, will only arrive at St George’s Park on Thursday in order to give Manchester United time to assess a shoulder injury that he picked up in their 3-1 win over Everton.

The rest of Southgate’s 28-man squad have reported for duty, with the majority arriving on Monday before Ben Chilwell, Eric Dier, Harry Kane, Kyle Walker, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling joined up on Tuesday.

Bellingham has just 54 senior appearances to his name since making his debut for Birmingham last season. The 17-year-old was targeted by Manchester United but settled on a move to Dortmund, following in the footsteps of his new international team-mate Jadon Sancho.