Ex-Tiger Jake Livermore returns to England squad

Jake Livermore, pictured during his Hull City days (Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire).

GARETH SOUTHGATE has praised Jake Livermore after welcoming the former Hull City midfielder back into the England fold.

The 27-year-old joined striker Jermain Defoe and defender Luke Shaw as surprise inclusions in the Three Lions’ squad to face Germany in a friendly and Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier, while Wayne Rooney’s name was the big omission.

If selected in either fixture, Livermore, whose only previous appearance for the senior national team came in 2012 against Italy, would become the first former Hull player to play for England since Brian Marwood in the late Eighties.

“Positionally, we are in a situation with some holding midfield players that we are without such as Jordan Henderson and Danny Drinkwater,” said Southgate, after naming a 26-man squad.

“But Jake has that type of profile, he is someone that we want to have a look at and it is a great opportunity to do that.

“It is a great reward for him for what he has done over the last year or so after battling back from some personal difficulties and I am sure he will be delighted to be involved.”

Livermore moved to Hull from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2013, initially on loan before making the move permanent for £8m a year later.

He served a five-month club ban after testing positive for cocaine in April, 2015, when struggling to cope with the death of his newborn son. The Football Association decided not to punish him further due to those difficult circumstances.

Livermore was a key player for Hull in the first half of this season, but was sold in January to West Brom for £10m as Marco Silva looked to bring in the necessary funds to remodel his squad.

Rooney’s absence from the squad came despite Southgate being without Harry Kane and Dean Sturridge for this month’s double-header against Germany on March 22 and then Lithuania at Wembley four days later.

“He has really not had a lot of game time recently,” added the England manager, “and others have in that area of the pitch, (that) has sort of determined my decision on that one.”

England squad: Forster, Hart, Heaton; Bertrand, Cahill, Clyne, Jones, Keane, Shaw, Smalling, Stones, Walker, Alli, Antonio, Barkley, Dier, Lallana, Lingard, Livermore, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Redmond, Sterling, Ward-Prowse; Defoe, Rashford, Vardy.