BURNLEY duo James Tarkowski and Nick Pope have been given a shock call-up to the England squad today.
Three Lions chief Gareth Southgate has included the Clarets pair in his squad for the upcoming friendlies against Italy and Holland.
Burnley have been a surprise package in the Premier League this season, leading from the back with Pope and Tarkowski key.
Goalkeeper Pope, 25, has only been Burnley’s No1 this season after a horror injury sustained by Tom Heaton early in the campaign.
However, he has shone all season, with Tarkowski, also 25, and Ben Mee in front of him, as Sean Dyche’s men sit seventh in the league.
In fact, Burnley have conceded a mere 26 goals in their 30 Premier League games this term – the fourth-best in the division, behind only Manchester City, United and Tottenham.
Former Charlton stopper Pope is the real surprise having played only 33 league games in five years at the London club – shipped out on loan eight times.
However, Burnley brought him in as their reserve goalkeeper in 2016, thrust into the action following Heaton’s dislocated shoulder.
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Pope has gone on to stake his claim as the best goalkeeper in the league and is set to be rightly given his chance.
Meanwhile, ex-Brentford man Tarkowski has also been a leading man in the heart of Burnley’s defence.
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Tarkowski has played 25 times in all competitions for the Clarets this season, impressing in Dyche’s solid back-four.
However, earlier this year he made headlines for the wrong reasons as he was slapped with a three-match ban by the FA for elbowing Brighton’s Glenn Murray.
Tarkowski accepted his violent conduct charge, sat out the trio of games, only to come back stronger and finally break into Southgate’s plans.
Both the goalkeeper and centre-back spots have been up for grabs in recent months, with injuries and lack of form affecting a host of “big names” such as Joe Hart and Chris Smalling.
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