Tottenham's Solanke named in England squad

Tottenham forward Dominic Solanke has been named in Lee Carsley’s England squad for their upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Greece and Finland.

England face Greece at Wembley on Oct. 10, followed by a trip to Finland on Oct. 13 in Carsley’s third and fourth games as interim head coach.

Solanke, who joined Tottenham for £65 million ($83m) in the summer, has scored three goals in five matches this season after recovering from an ankle injury.

His form follows a successful spell at Bournemouth last season, where he scored 19 goals in 38 Premier League games.

“Dom’s a player that I’m fully aware of having worked with him in the past,” Carsley told a news conference on Thursday.

“Dom was really close to being in the last squad obviously he got that injury just before selection. He’s a player that’s done so well at Bournemouth and he’s taken that form into Spurs.

“He’s got a lot of really good attributes that I really like as well as being a really nice person. He’s extremely talented and it’s good that we’ve got him.”

Solanke already has one England cap after he came on as a substitute in a friendly against Brazil in 2017.

Chelsea‘s Levi Colwill has also been selected, while Aston Villa‘s Morgan Rogers has missed out despite a strong start to the season.

Colwill’s Chelsea teammate Cole Palmer, Real Madrid‘s Jude Bellingham and Manchester City‘s Phil Foden have been named after being unavailable for the matches against Republic of Ireland and Finland in September.

Nottingham Forest‘s Morgan Gibbs-White and Lille‘s Angel Gomes have kept their places in the squad after being included last month.

Carsley — who was named as interim head coach following Gareth Southgate’s departure after England’s defeat in the Euro 2024 final — wouldn’t be drawn on whether he has had talks with the Football Association (FA) about taking over the role on a permanent basis.

“It’s really clear what my remit is, it’s to take these three camps in the Nations League, something I’m really comfortable doing,” Carsley said.

“My situation hasn’t changed. It was a real challenge picking the squad, the players that we’ve had to leave out, we’ve got some really talented players.

“That’s a big enough challenge without worrying about candidates and the rest of it. I’m fully aware of my situation and comfortable with it.”