EDDIE HOWE is hoping Dan Burn and Matt Targett will both receive their maiden call-ups to the senior England set-up when Gareth Southgate names his squad for next month’s Nations League matches this afternoon.

England will play four Nations League matches in an 11-day period in June, with an away double-header against Hungary and Germany preceding back-to-back home matches against Italy and Hungary, and Southgate may well opt to name a larger squad than usual to ensure his players are not over-worked at the end of a long season.

Kieran Trippier will hope to be named as one of England’s full-back options, having been a key member of the squad that made it all the way to the final of the European Championships last summer, while Callum Wilson will also be desperate to earn a recall after proving his fitness in the final month of the season.

However, Newcastle’s international involvement might not end there, with Burn and Targett also having been touted for a possible call-up.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they were called up at all,” said Howe. “I think they’ve been excellent for me, and I can’t speak highly enough of them as footballers and as people. I think they’ve been outstanding, so certainly from their perspective, I hope it happens.”

Burn has not represented England at any representative level, but having impressed during his time at Brighton, the centre-half has taken his performances to a different level since joining Newcastle in a £13m deal in January.

The towering central defender has been an ever-present under Eddie Howe, dominating the heart of the Newcastle defence, and his displays have caught the eye of Southgate, who is considering handing him a surprise elevation to the senior squad.

England are somewhat short of central-defensive options, with a number of players having struggled in the last few months. Harry Maguire has been badly out of form at Manchester United, Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey have both had difficult seasons with Everton and Joe Gomez has found himself consigned to the sidelines at Liverpool.

Southgate may hand a senior call-up to Fikayo Tomori, who has been in excellent form for newly-crowned Serie A champions AC Milan, but there could also be a place for Burn, whose left-footed make-up would help add balance to England’s backline.

If Targett was to be called up, his selection would also be the result of issues at left-back, with Southgate short of options for the left-hand side of either a back four or a back five.

Ben Chilwell ended a six-month injury absence when he made a brief substitute appearance in Chelsea’s season-ending win over Watford on Sunday, while Luke Shaw has not played since early April after he had to have screws removed from his leg that were still in place following an operation to fix a career-threatening leg break in 2015.

Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell made his international debut earlier this year and is likely to be in the squad for England’s Nations League games, but Targett could also feature if Southgate wants to keep his options open.

Uncapped Jarrod Bowen is also widely expected to be included at the end of a superb season at West Ham, having been ruled out of March’s friendlies with a heel issue.

Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze is another player who is understood to have caught Southgate’s eye. The 23-year-old had been due to be named in England’s provisional European Championship squad only to sustain a freak Achilles injury.

James Maddison, meanwhile, has made a great case to end his time in the international wilderness.

The 25-year-old midfielder has not been called into the squad since making his debut in November 2019 and has ended the campaign in superb form at Leicester, scoring 18 goals in all competitions.

“He can’t do any more,” Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers said of Maddison’s England hopes after scoring in Sunday’s 4-1 stroll against Southampton. “He has been brilliant. He is hungry since that difficult start for him. He has power and quality, he scores today and creates one.

“He’s not tense, he’s free. He is fit and is playing the games. He is doing the running and doing the work. Look at his numbers, he has been first class and been – by quite a distance – our best player.”