Gareth Southgate Reportedly Prepared to Hand Burnely's James Tarkowski First International Call Up

Burnley's James Tarkowski is reportedly in contention for an England call up from Gareth Southgate ahead of this month's international break. The 25-year-old has enjoyed a stellar season at Turf Moor, and a call up to the international squad would pay dividends to his meteoric rise at the top level.

The defender - who could also choose to play for Poland due to his paternal grandfather - has been a key part of Sean Dyche's squad this season, but was out for six weeks at the turn of the year - returning for his side's two recent wins over Everton and West Ham.

And now, according to the Times, Gareth Southgate will go through some final checks with Burnley regarding Tarkowski's fitness before handing him his first international opportunity ahead of the World Cup - and it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility if he is then called up for the competition in the summer.

The report also claims that injury to Phil Jones and a drop in form from the likes of Gary Cahill and Micheal Keane are also tempting Southgate into calling Swansea centre half Alfie Mawson, and Tarkwoski's teammate Ben Mee to the England squad.

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There is also a chance that Jack Wilshere will also return, having received a run of games at Arsenal in recent months. Southgate refused to pick the injury prone midfielder previously due to a lack of game time, but Arsene Wenger claims he has a feeling that Wilshere will get a chance to earn some more caps:

“I hope he’s in the squad,” Wenger said. “The vibes I get are positive. I believe he has a good chance but we leave that to Gareth Southgate.”