Henderson gets the nod but Luton midfielder Barkley misses out on England squad for Brazil and Belgium friendlies

Luton midfielder Ross Barkley hasn’t been included in England manager Gareth Southgate’s squad for their friendlies against both Brazil and Belgium later this month.

The 25-man squad has seen five out and out midfielders named, Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, James Maddison and Declan Rice involved, with experienced Ajax player Jordan Henderson, 33, also included, despite only playing five times for the Eredivisie side since moving to the Netherlands. West Ham midfielder Kalvin Phillips has also missed out on selection, but Chelsea winger Cole Palmer, Aston Villa centre-back Ezri Konsa, Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon and Everton defender have all been chosen centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite.

Barkley, 30, who has 33 caps to his name, although hasn’t played since 2019, had been hoping for a call-up with the European Championships taking place this summer, as speaking in recent weeks, he said: "I’m not going to lie, it's in the back of my mind, but I know there’s a lot of competition for places in the England squad. I know the quality that's there and I believe I can add something to the squad.

"I can take risks, I can create assists and definitely I’m much more disciplined now. I feel like I’m in a good place again, not having to worry about anything else, just playing games, enjoying my training and enjoying my matches, trying to help the team as much as possible. We've been a bit up and down, but we’re a positive group, we’ve just got to focus on game to game.”

England squad – Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale. Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite, Ben Chilwell, Lewis Dunk, Joe Gomez, Ezri Konsa, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Kyle Walker. Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, James Maddison, Declan Rice. Forwards: Jarrod Bowen, Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins