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Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck has been named in England’s provisional 30-man squad for the friendly with Netherlands next Wednesday.

Welbeck made his international debut against Ghana in March after impressing on loan at Sunderland.

Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere is also included despite an ankle injury.

The 27-year-old was the top-scoring Englishman in the Premier League last season with 17 goals for Sunderland and Aston Villa, but was part of the England side that struggled to a 2-2 draw at home to Switzerland in June.

Arsene Wenger, Wilshere’s club manager at the Emirates, had warned that if the midfielder failed to play against Benfica on Saturday he would “certainly” not play against the Dutch.

After having a scan on his injured ankle, Wilshere did not feature in the pre-season friendly, but has been selected by Capello regardless.

Manchester United’s Phil Jones did not make the squad despite reports he had been included on Friday.

Tottenham’s Kyle Walker and Manchester City’s Micah Richards may deputise in his absence, while centre-back Phil Jagielka has been deployed in the position on the last two occasions Johnson has been missing.

Richards only won his first cap under Capello in November and claimed a fortnight ago that he may have to wait for the manager’s departure in the wake of Euro 2012 to resume his international career.

England squad to play Netherlands on 10 August:

Robert Green, Joe Hart, David Stockdale, Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Phil Jagielka, Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards, John Terry, Kyle Walker, Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Stewart Downing, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Scott Parker, Jack Wilshere, Ashley Young, Andy Carroll, Peter Crouch, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck (BBC Sport)

A few surprises in this selection and perhaps most surprisingly Darren Bent overlooked for a call up given his good form last term with both Sunderland and Aston Villa, netting 20 goals. Danny Welbeck’s inclusion comes after good form shown during the European Under 21 Championships this summer, surprisingly therefore Chelsea youngster Daniel Sturridge misses out.

This friendly will be Fabio Capello’s chance to look at his charges ahead of the two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales in early September.

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Liverpool are lining up an audacious £27million bid for Manchester City duo Wayne Bridge and James Milner.

The Reds will move for the stars after learning they both could be made available as they are unhappy about the amount of first-team football they could play at Eastlands next season.

Milner, 25, only joined City 12 months ago from Aston Villa for £26million but has failed to establish himself in the starting XI.

It is rumoured Blues boss Roberto Mancini will accept a small loss on the player at £20million as it will allow him to move for other targets such as Udinese’s Alexis Sanchez, Napoli’s Ezequiel Lavezzi or Neymar from Santos.

Milner was allegedly a target for his former club Villa but now Anfield boss Kenny Dalglish is contemplating a move.

The Scot is also chasing a left-back and looks likely to miss out on number one target Gael Clichy from Arsenal.

The 25-year-old Frenchman will either sign a new deal to stay at the Emirates or will be sold to Italian giants Roma.

Dalglish has then turned his attention to Bridge, 30, to help solve his problem position.

The ex-England international was sent on-loan in January to West Ham and Mancini is happy to off-load Bridge to free up extra wages for other stars.

A £7million bid is likely to be enough to capture Bridge’s signature.

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Liverpool are reportedly taking an interest in Man City star Jamer Milner as reports circulate that the England international may not be happy at Eastlands. Speculation has been rife in recent weeks about possible interest in the 25 year old from his former club Aston Villa and apparently Kenny Dalglish is now monitoring the situation with a view to making a possible bid for the attacking midfielder.

Milner arrived at Eastlands last August after a long drawn out battle between the two clubs, which came just days after Martin O’Neill left Villa Park. The £26m deal also saw Stephen Ireland move in the opposite direction and should have seen the former Leeds and Newcastle United man continue his progression but in many ways his first season at Man City has been a stop/start one that has been punctuated by periods of poor form.

Roberto Mancini had begun the season with Milner as a first team regular but then started to bring the intelligent midfielder on from the bench and it was this end of season treatment that is said to have disappointed the adaptable talent which in turn has led to rumours of a possible departure from the City of Manchester Stadium.

Man City’s ongoing pursuit of Alexis Sanchez has also not pleased £20m rated Milner and now Liverpool have joined Aston Villa in the chase for the England regular.

Kenny Dalglish is eager to add more quality signings this summer and has already brought in Sunderland youngster Jordan Henderson and will be greatly interested in Jamer Milner’s ability to ply his trade in an advanced central midfield role but perhaps more usefully, out wide, where he could fill one of Liverpool’s problem areas.

Liverpool’s owners are ready to fund substantial moves in the transfer market and have an eye to the future and Milner at 25 is nearing his peak years and has already amassed an impressive 300 plus top level apperances.

Dalglish is keen to bring in some creative talent that can help provide the ammunition for strike pairing Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll and Milner’s ability to consistently deliver quality crosses into the box will be a much needed boost to the club’s attack.

Liverpool are also said to be interested in Blackpool playmaker Charlie Adam and Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing, but moves for both players have become lengthy drawn out affairs and perhaps a move for James Milner would trump those potential additions.

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Aston Villa are plotting an audacious £14million bid to bring James Milner back from Manchester City.

New boss Alex McLeish has the England mid­fielder – sold less than a year ago for a club record £23m – on his hit list.

McLeish admitted: “Darren Bent has been in sensational form scoring goals for this club since he signed in January, but he needs a supplier and the ammunition to carry that on.”

Milner, 25, is worried after falling down the pecking order at Eastlands.

SOURCE: Daily Mirror

This may not be as strange as it sounds but one wonders how the Villa Park faithful would feel about a move to sign a player who was perfectly happy to leave Aston Villa for a ‘bigger’ club less than a year ago. The England international saw his first team chances limited towards the end of the campaign and started much of the final months of the season coming on from the bench.

Man City paid £26m, a fee that included Stephen Ireland moving in the opposite direction, and Roberto Mancini initially started the campaign with the 25 year old as a virtual regular but then experienced a drop in form and found himself coming on as a substitute on a dozen occasions last term, something the attacking midfielder will not have expected to occur following his big money move.

Milner will be keen to stay at Eastlands now that Man City have secured a Champions League berth but perhaps he would be interested in a return to the club where he experienced his best form during two consistent seasons under Martin O’Neill.

Alex McLeish will have to do his best to win over the Aston Villa fans following his contentious move from arch rivals Birmingham City and if he can indeed snap up Milner then it would show the club still had ambition, something that the Midlands club will be even more eager to prove after the sale of Ashley Young to Man United and Brad Friedel’s departure to Tottenham.

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25.  Stephen Fletcher (Burnley to Wolverhamton Wanderers, undisclosed)

Manchester City are planning to make an offer to sign Liverpool Alberto Aquilani this summer. Roberto Mancini is known to be an admirer of the Italian international and hopes to lure the creative midfielder to Eastlands but will first have to persuade Kenny Dalglish to sell to a rival to their top four ambitions.

Currently on loan at Juventus, 26 year old Aquilani is thought to be keen on securing a permanent deal with the Serie A giants, however the Turin side are as yet unwilling to meet the €16m (£14.5m) fee that Liverpool are looking for which has led to Mancini’s move to enter the race to sign the former Roma man.

Alberto Aquilani arrived at Liverpool last term whilst still injured and when fully fit was strangely overlooked by Rafa Benitez and made just nine Premier League starts and was then taken on a season long loan by a Juventus side looking to recapture their place at Italy’s top table under the new management of Luigi Delneri. However the Old Lady of Italian football have had a poor season as a whole and currently sit in seventh spot.

Aquilani’s personal form has though been consistent and noteworthy and has led to a recall to the Italian national team and much interest from prospective buyers with the likes of Inter and AC Milan both supposedly keen on the Liverpool man.

Kenny Dalglish’s return to Anfield has led to a huge improvement from midfielder Raul Meireles and Lucas and therefore makes the chances of Aquilani returning to Merseyside seemingly unlikely. Man City boss Roberto Mancini is seemingly keen to add a more cultured edge to the centre of his midfield to sit alongside the more aggressive combative abilities of the likes of Nigel De Jong and Patrick Vieira.

Aquilani’s is adept as a holding midfielder as well as being able to link midfield and attack in a more offensive manner make him a very attractive proposition. Summer signing James Milner has not had the best of seasons and Mancini may feel that the Italian international has more to offer.

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Stewart Downing was, fittingly, named man of the match in a fluid display that saw the Villa winger swap positions regularly with team-mate Ashley Young and Manchester City’s James Milner, marking a new approach for England. However the real star of the show, and the man giving England’s forwards their freedom, was Jack Wilshere.

That the Premier League’s emerging star was one of the few players to retain his starting place from the Wales game to face Ghana at Wembley is by no means suggestive that he is a part of the second-string. Rather, it demonstrates his emerging importance as chief tenant of England’s engine room.

Analysts were, last night, hailing Fabio Capello’s turn to a 4-3-3 formation as a long overdue embrace of flexibility; a timely discarding of the structure and stability that restricts any team playing England’s  historically favoured 4-4-2 system.

But Capello is shrewder than his poor English allows him credit for. His utilisation of the 4-4-2 formation throughout the world cup qualifying campaign, and in the desperate disappointment of South Africa, was borne out of circumstance.

His sudden embrace of 4-4-3, first against Wales and again last night against Ghana, is not an epiphany; it’s pragmatism, plain and simple, because his controversial reign as England coach is now clearly marked out in two epochs: pre-Wilshere and post-Wilshere.

Before the Arsenal youngster burst on to the scene as the Xavi-esque player that England is not supposed to be capable of producing, Capello knew that even the greatest talents of his squad – Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney – were accustomed to 4-4-2. They were brought up on a rich but flawed diet of direct, old-school English football; a diet giving of passion, but not composure. Wilshere, on the other hand, may as well be called Jacques. He is a child of Wenger, and he is a new breed.

In Wilshere, Capello knows that he finally has the player that he needs; the player that he can build a side around. That his foundation stone is but a teenager is neither here nor there. Wilshere is blessed with immense talent, and already has ample capability.

The Arsenal youngster is fundamentally different because he is not in a rush to hurtle forward. He does not make the driving runs for which Lampard and Gerrard are renowned, and which often cursed England with rushed attacks. He sits, he waits, he passes. He builds the play; whereas Lampard and Gerrard attempt to force it.

In a post-Wilshere world, Capello knows that he can create a more fluid side and employ a flexible formation, because the 19 year-old is England’s long-lost conductor, orchestrating the attack with outstanding vision and a stunning range of passing. He is England’s new beating heart and around him everything else can flow.

Credit is due to both Wenger and Capello for recognising so quickly that Wilshere’s time has come, and has come at an incredibly early age. Against Ghana, and with Wilshere, England were exciting to watch and their forwards difficult to mark. Intelligent runs were frequently made and picked out as the side seemed fresh and inspired, shaking off the stagnation of the world cup.

Capello should be excited about the future, because much can and should be improved upon as the players adapt to the new system. Most excitingly, this set-up should finally accommodate the attacking talents of either Gerrard or Lampard, with Parker and Wilshere providing the stability that England’s old men crave but could never be expected to provide in tandem.

With promising displays from Ashley Young and Leighton Baines, and a well-taken goal by Andy Carroll adding further cause for optimism, Capello has an opportunity to fashion a blend of youth and experience that is the hallmark of many a great side. Get it right, and England could go far at Euro 2012.

Read more from Ben Williams at his excellent blog Three O’Clock Kick-Off by CLICKING HERE

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Manchester City midfielder James Milner insists his team are still a work in progress but will soon overtake local rivals Manchester United.

The 25-year-old joined the Blues last summer after a £26million move from Aston Villa.

The England international was not the only new acquisition at the club as the club’s Abu Dhabi owners have spent around £380million on player transfers in two years.

While City are on course to make next season’s Champions League, the club were knocked out of the Europa League and have fallen out of the Premier League title race over recent weeks.

Their only realistic chance of silverware is the Fa Cup, and they face neighbours United at Wembley on April 16.

But Milner is confident his team will soon be challenging  for all the coveted prizes in English football.

“No team has been on fire this season,” he said.

“Chelsea had a great start, then struggled. Manchester United have somehow kept winning games without playing well.

“We have to get that mentality.It is going to take time. There have been so many changes.

“You have to get that bond and learn how to play with each other. We have played well in spells but not in others.

“However, we have the biggest scope to improve out of any team in the league. I think we will do that and continue to get better.”

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Manchester City midfielder James Milner does not regret joining the club despite making a limited impact.

The 25-year-old’s season has been disrupted by injury restricting him to appearing in only half of City’s games since joining last summer in a £26million move from Aston Villa.

The Blues manager Roberto Mancini wanted the England international for his versatility and liked his industry and discipline.

Milner agrees he needs to improve but is happy he joined the revolution at the Eastlands.

“Definitely,” he said. “I moved to the club to win trophies and play in the Champions League and we’re still on course for that.

“We are also in the semi-finals of the FA Cup. I am delighted with that.

“We didn’t get too caught in all the ‘can you win the league’ talk.

“It is always tough moving teams but I am feeling more at home the longer I am there.”

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Wolves winger Matt Jarvis has been called up by England for the first time, for the Euro 2012 qualifying match against Wales on Saturday.
Jarvis, 24, has made a couple of provisional squads this season but not boss Fabio Capello’s final cut.
With Theo Walcott injured and Adam Johnson only just fit again and not included, he will be competing with Aaron Lennon and Ashley Young.
As expected, Liverpool striker Andy Carroll returns to the squad.
Carroll impressed Capello when he made his debut in the friendly defeat to France in November as a Newcastle player.
The forward has since moved to Anfield in a £35m deal but missed last month’s encounter with Denmark because of a thigh injury.
He has started in Liverpool’s last two matches, against Braga and Sunderland, and the England coach always made it clear he would return once he had regained his fitness.
Lennon is included for the first time since England’s last qualifier against Montenegro in October.
Everton defender Phil Jagielka is back, along with Tottenham striker Peter Crouch, in a 26-man squad that will also feature in the friendly match against Ghana at Wembley on 29 March.
It is the Wales encounter that is crucial, though, with England knowing they cannot afford to drop points at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
England squad:
Goalkeepers: Ben Foster (Birmingham), Robert Green (West Ham), Joe Hart (Man City).
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Bolton), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Joleon Lescott (Man City), John Terry (Chelsea, capt), Kyle Walker (Aston Villa).
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Man City), Stewart Downing (Aston Villa), Matt Jarvis (Wolves), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Man City), Scott Parker (West Ham), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).
Strikers: Darren Bent (Aston Villa), Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) (BBC Sport)

So what do you make of Fabio Capello’s selections? Clearly the issue of the England captaincy is garnering all the headlines but a mention should be made to Matt Jarvis’s first call-up after a very consistent campaign on the Wolves wing. Andy Carroll has looked pretty sluggish since his move to Liverpool but that is probably down to the former Newcastle United man still finding his feet after injury.

Scott Parker’s excellent form of late gets him in the squad but will it mean a cap or a start in either game? It should, but I would hazard a guess that Capello opts to keep faith with his usual crop of stars. Gareth Barry’s performance against Chelsea was so inept one wonders how he gets named but perhaps the Italian knows more than me about what the Man City man offers.

Anyone you think that Fabio missed out? Anyone in this squad who is not worthy of selection for the upcoming games against Wales and Ghana?

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