England set to call up Tyrick Mitchell for first time as part of wholesale changes to squad

Several alterations are set to be made to Gareth Southgate's squad

Crystal Palace full-back Tyrick Mitchell is set to be called up to the England squad for the first time as part of a number of changes to Gareth Southgate's squad. Mitchell is poised to replace Chelsea's Reece James, as reported by the Evening Standard, and will be joined by Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins, who will hope to add his six appearances for the Three Lions to date. The left-back has impressed for the Eagles and will now join up alongside fellow teammates Marc Guéhi and Conor Gallagher for the fixtures against Switzerland and the Ivory Coast over the next fortnight. Southgate noted the 22-year-old's efforts for Patrick Vieira's side this season, and had admitted he had been keeping a close eye on Mitchell's progress. During his initial squad announcement on Thursday he said: "Tyrick, we’ve been really impressed with. He was very close. "I think he’s been very good with his defending, he gets out quickly to people and in the biggest games against top opponents he’s coped really well." Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold has also withdrawn from the squad due to injury, leaving Southgate with no recognised right-backs a part of the 25-man squad. Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford were not included in the initial announcement and it remains to be seen if Southgate will reverse his decision on the Manchester United duo. As per The Athletic's David Ornstein, it is expected that more changes will be made to the side ahead of their first game, which is against the Swiss on Saturday, before they face Ivory Coast three days later. Both fixtures will take place at Wembley Stadium. Related links:

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