The bold ex-Man Utd England call-up that hints at Three Lions future direction under Lee Carsley

Lee Carsley’s first squad as interim England head coach wrote its own headlines – out with the old, in with the new, with Kieran Trippier retiring from international duty and Kyle Walker omitted while a host of the new broom’s former protégés from the Under-21s were included. But looking beyond the more obvious first impressions, what does the fine detail of Carsley’s 26-man squad tell us about the direction he plans to take the national team?

Call-ups for former age-group internationals like Angel Gomes and Noni Madueke may hint at a programme of rejuvenation, using the relatively lowly standing of the Nations League to bring the next generation through when the stakes are relatively low, but remember that for former Republic of Ireland midfielder Carsley, there is a lot on the line. This is his grand audition for the big job, a handful of matches with which to prove that he has the chops to take the role full-time. If he thought that Walker, Marcus Rashford, James Maddison or any of the other more prominent absentees would help him win the games against Ireland and Finland, he would surely have included them.

It tells us about the trust he has in young players like Chelsea winger Madueke, who scored seven goals in 20 games for the Under-21s, and Manchester United academy graduate Gomes, who earned 18 caps, all under Carsley’s tenure. He knows these players inside out and clearly believes in their qualities, and that may be why he left out Adam Wharton, whose ascent has been so rapid that he has just one game under Carsley to his name.

But there are also hints of his tactical preferences in calling up Gomes while leaving out Wharton, hardly a battle-hardened veteran himself. Carsley didn’t mimic Gareth Southgate’s tactics with his Under-21s team but played with a more fluid 4-3-3, with an emphasis on dynamic players who prioritised quality on the ball over defensive mettle, and that may tell us a lot about the Three Lions’ direction of travel.

In most of his recent matches with the Under-21s team, the player at the heart of central midfield was either Hayden Hackney of Middlesbrough or Tyler Morton from Liverpool – both technically-gifted players but playmakers, passers, ball carriers and by no stretch of the imagination classical holding midfielders. Neither force large volumes of turnovers and nor are they especially strong in one-on-one situations, but they have a fine first touch, confidence coming forward and an extensive passing range.

That skill-set hasn’t helped either player establish themselves at the very top level yet. Hackney is doing just fine at the Riverside but Morton is barely on the fringes of Liverpool’s first-team, and during a recent loan spell at Blackburn Rovers he often struggled to handle the pressure applied by more technically-limited opposing midfielders. At international level, however, the sort of intense organised pressing typically of the upper echelons of the English domestic game is relatively rare, and Carsley may well feel that it makes sense to prioritise creativity and dynamism over steel and grit – somewhat ironic, perhaps, given his own qualities as a player.

Hackney and Morton aren’t ready for the England senior side yet, so instead we see players like Gomes, a creative player with lovely, crisp, intelligent passing and a good game with the ball at his feet instead of Wharton, who does have good passing vision but owes much of his success to his dogged determination off the ball and his ability to battle through opposing midfields.

That has served him well at Blackburn and at Crystal Palace but is perhaps a slightly less helpful skill set in the Nations League. He isn’t a natural dribbler, and perhaps that has cost him his place, for now at least. Lille midfielder Gomes, however, is adept with the ball at his feet as well as having excellent vision and creative skills with his passing.

The squad has just four players in it who could notionally play a holding role of some kind – Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Conor Gallagher and Rico Lewis, who often played in midfield for Carsley’s junior teams. A Southgate-style double pivot seems rather unlikely based on numbers alone, and all of those players are at least as capable heading upfield with the ball at their feet as they are running back towards their own goal. Many of them are fine defensive players and good in tight spots, but without giving up the capacity to carry attacks forward quickly and dangerously.

We can also see a potential desire for direct running and pace on the ball up front prioritised over passing ability and players who like to operate in deeper areas. Madueke is in, as are Jack Grealish, Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze but Tottenham Hotspur’s Maddison – hardly a bad dribbler but a classical playmaking number ten first and foremost – is left out. The basic tenets seem to be that the creativity and dynamism starts in midfield and the attack is set up to be quick, incisive and willing to run at defences.

Certainly, if Carsley wants to continue to use Harry Kane as his number nine, it makes sense to have players who can burst beyond him in the way that Raheem Sterling used to, so that he can play that ‘quarterback’ role that he is so good at. The midfield looks to be geared up to get the ball quickly to Kane, with wide forwards who can continue the attack with dangerous, pacey runs in behind. It certainly implies a more aggressive, attack-minded style of play than we are used to seeing with Southgate.

In any case, if all Carsley wanted to do was to give some of his young guns a chance to strut their stuff, he probably wouldn’t have called up Harry Maguire. That selection alone, one that many new England coaches may not have made, signals that Carsley values experience, just so long as it comes in a head attached to a body capable of playing the way that he wants.

Shortly after taking the job, Carsley said he wanted to place his “own stamp” on the side, interim manager or not, and when he takes charge for the first time at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin next Saturday – what more appropriate venue could there be for the old warhorse? – he will be doing just that.

This squad doesn’t look like a pat on the back for his kids or a rejection of Southgate’s trusted veterans. This seems like a squad designed to play football the way Carsley believes that it should be played.