Regular senior England stars Fraser Forster and Ryan Bertrand have been joined by fellow Southampton players Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse in the latest Three Lions squad.

Gareth Southgate made the announcement ahead of clashes with Germany and Lithuania next week.

Shock inclusion

Despite an upturn in form by Southampton in recent weeks, the news that Redmond and Ward-Prowse have earned call-ups shocked many members of the footballing world.

However, Southgate will be well-accustomed to the pair, having coached them numerous times at under-21 level.

The new England boss must now decide whether to use Redmond in a wide role or central role after Claude Puel chose to move the player into a centre forward position at the start of the season.

What they deserve

Speaking after his decision, Southgate was full of praise for the duo receiving their first caps.

“They are players we’ve worked with before and they are players who are in excellent form with their club,” Southgate explained.

"They deserve the opportunity. They’ve been performing well in our junior age groups for a long time and they are two that we wanted to introduce to a senior environment and see how they get on.”

The former Middlesbrough boss went on to say the pair had been aimed at the Under-21 tournament this summer, but Southgate "didn’t want to hold them back."

Saints galore

As well as the four current Southampton stars in the squad, there are also some familiar faces in there who will be known by many on the South Coast.

Ex-Saints Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw and Nathaniel Clyne are also included, which is huge credit to Southampton's fantastic youth system.

Southampton will also be represented at Under-21 level, after defenders Jack Stephens and Sam McQueen were included in Aidy Boothroyd's squad.

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