Fans left in disbelief at one inclusion in the England squad as forgotten wonderkid given first call-up

Lee Carsley has announced a much-changed squad for his first selection as interim England manager - and one pick in particular has caught the eye of fans.

The 50-year-old, who has coached the England under-21 side since 2021, stepped up to the senior role on a temporary basis following the resignation of Gareth Southgate after Euro 2024.

And he has made some big calls in his first squad for Nations League fixtures against Republic of Ireland and Finland, dropping Kyle Walker and deciding not to recall Marcus Rashford or James Maddison.

There are four uncapped players in the squad, with Newcastle's Tino Livramento, Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White and Chelsea's Noni Madueke all involved.

The fourth uncapped player is Lille midfielder Angel Gomes, who has starred in Ligue 1 since leaving Manchester United in 2020.

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He was also part of the England U21 squad that won the U21 European Championship last year, and fans have long been calling for his inclusion.

Gomes' name has rarely been mentioned in connection with a call-up, however, and Southgate never selected him during his time in charge.

Taking to Twitter to react to Gomes' call-up, one fan wrote: "So happy for Angel Gomes. Totally deserves it. Glad coaches are seeing past the height thing now."

A second said: "Angel Gomes England call-up? I prayed for a time like this."

A third wrote: "He's actually stuck Angel Gomes in, what a legend."

A fourth claimed: "Angel Gomes would have never seen that call-up if Southgate was still here."

And a fifth added: "Big fan of inclusions for Morgan Gibbs-White but especially Angel Gomes. Huge talent and Carsley doing it justice."

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Speaking about Gomes' inclusion at his press conference, Carsley explained: "Morgan and Angel were part of that [U17] World Cup team, a few years back, that won in 2017. They've done the [U21] Euros as well.

"Angel is different to what we would have seen in the past, in terms of the central midfielder who is more physical and robust.

"He's very technical, controls the game with his skill and technique, he's very determined and has an excellent attitude.

"He's a player who people are going to really be excited to see."