Jason Steele lands shock England call-up for Uruguay and Japan friendlies | OneFootball

Jason Steele, the former Sunderland and Middlesbrough goalkeeper, has received a surprise England call-up to Thomas Tuchel's 35-man squad for this month's friendlies with Uruguay and Japan.

The FA said in a statement that his call-up raises the prospect of him joining the World Cup squad as a training goalkeeper this summer. The 35-year-old has not featured in the Premier League this season and this is his first senior selection after youth caps.

Born in Newton Aycliffe, he joined Sunderland from Blackburn Rovers in summer 2017 as the club adjusted to life back in the Championship after relegation under David Moyes. He started the first four league games under Simon Grayson and made 18 appearances in all competitions as the Black Cats dropped into the third tier of English football for only the second time in their history.

He departed before the following season began, joining Brighton and Hove Albion on a free transfer. Steele has made over 60 appearances for the Seagulls and featured in their 2023/24 Europa League campaign.

Tuchel said the squad had been effectively split in two to assess players who have had limited minutes and to widen competition for places on the flight to the US. He added that from Friday and Saturday a further set of 10 or 11 players would report, before taking a refreshed, mixed squad into the second match.

Source: Sunderland Echo