Curtis Jones gets England reward and Gareth Southgate has reason for surprise Liverpool inclusion

Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones has been rewarded for a fine season with his first senior England call-up. The 23-year-old has been named in Gareth Southgate's provisional squad for the European Championships, alongside teammate Jarell Quansah.

Jones helped England's Under-21s win the Euros last summer and after graduating, had been waiting for senior recognition. He had been in excellent form earlier in the campaign but an ankle injury denied him a call-up.

Southgate said back in March: "He was definitely somebody we were tracking very closely ahead of his injury. We were without doubt very excited by his performances.”

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Jones, who returned to fitness for the season run-in, had been lauded by his manager for his progress in the past 12 months. Klopp told BBC Sport: "I've known him for a long time and I'm one of his biggest fans.

"From the first day when I saw him, when the talent group trained at Melwood on a side pitch, I looked out of my office and I saw him there, 'Wow', the next question was 'How old was he?'. He was 15 at the time and it was already clear he was a massive talent."

Jones has been able to capitalize on England's issues in midfield, having featured in 36 games in all competitions despite his injury lay-off. He ended the season with five goals in all competitions.

Ex-Reds captain Jordan Henderson has been a mainstay in Southgate's squad but has had a difficult year since leaving Anfield while Kalvin Phillips has also struggled for form since joining West Ham on loan.

Both players are set to miss out on the Euros and Jones is likely to be battling James Maddison and Eberechi Eze for a place in the final squad. Many Liverpool fans believe Harvey Elliott has also done enough to make the cut but he will have to wait for a senior call-up.

Elliott has impressed in a deeper role in the final matches of the season but has predominantly been used in a wide attacking role. Ex-England and Manchester City defender Micah Richards believes there is too much competition for that position right now.

Richards said on the ‘Rest is Football’ podcast. “I think the reason why Elliott has not been mentioned is, because when he is playing for Liverpool, he has been in attacking positions. He’s up against Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Jack Grealish, the list goes on. That’s the only reason, but his quality is there. I think he’s fantastic."