Full back Shaw is the most notable recall to Southgate’s squad, especially as it comes at the expense of his Manchester United teammate Ashley Young.

Fellow defender, Liverpool’s Joe Gomez also returns to the squad, after injury ruled him out of the World Cup in Russia. Anfield colleague Adam Lallana is back in, along with Burnley’s James Tarkowski, who were both placed on standby during the summer’s festival of football.

Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy is the last of the five changes Southgate has made.

Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Danny Welbeck are the only recognised strikers named, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek remains in the squad despite making just one substitute appearance for Chelsea so far this season.

England will face Spain in the new Uefa Nations league at Wembley on Saturday September 8 followed by a friendly against Switzerland, three days later, at Leicester.

Southgate said: “We picked a squad in the summer that we believed were the best players for that. Not too much will have changed in that time because we reached the semi-final and there’s only been three league games. We wanted some continuity.

“We won’t stand still. We’ve added young players – Luke Shaw is still only 23. Joe Gomez is 21. We’ve reduced the age of the squad.

“We’re aware of the excitement around some other young players but we think it is a bit early for some of them. We’re looking to consolidate but also looking forward to the future.”

There were always going to be fresh faces in this announcement, after Leicester striker Jamie Vardy and Chelsea defender Gary Cahill effectively stood down from international duty in recent days. But the question was just how much Southgate would freshen up a squad that performed above and beyond all expectations in Russia.

Young’s omission shows Southgate is continuing to look to the future and to youth, but equally is trying to strike a balance with continuity from the World Cup.

“We had good discussions out in Russia with those guys [Vardy and Cahill] and I spoke with Ashley [Young] just this week. They have come to a point where they recognise their role within the squad. All three have been brilliant.

“As you get to become an older player that squad role is more difficult. You have competing things with time and family. For me it was a very mature discussion.

“All three want to remain available. None of them want to retire from international football. They don’t have an ego and don’t want to make a big announcement about retiring. That allows us to look to the future.”

Shaw’s return marks a turnaround in his own personal fortunes and is reward for his fine start to the new Premier League season. After a lack of game time and personal criticism from Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho last season, this term Shaw has started all three matches to date and scored the winner – his first ever goal in professional football – against Leicester on the opening day.

Southgate said of Shaw: “He has had a difficult period in terms of adapting to a new club. A really horrendous injury he had to overcome. I’m really impressed with the physical condition that he is in. He had an extra edge to his game in the last couple of matches I’ve seen.

“He’s shown an aggression to his play, a desire not to lose. Back to his powerful best.”

Southgate was also always going to have to make a change in his three goalkeeper selections, with third choice Nick Pope currently sidelined. His replacement at Burnley, Joe Hart, was expected to gain a recall after a strong start to life at Turf Moor, but the nod has gone to Southampton’s number one instead.

“It’s an opportunity for Alex [McCarthy]. He’s not a player we’ve worked with. We’d like to know a bit more about him.

“We know what Joe [Hart] can do. Having got as close to the World Cup as he did, and leaving him out at the end, it’s a bit too early to bring him back into the fold. Let’s look at some of the others over the next few months.

“I’m sure Joe has still got a desire to be involved with England but again, we’ve got a problem in goalkeeping positions. There are four or five [English] goalkeepers maximum playing in the Premier League.

“Jack [Butland] has dropped into the Championship. We feel it is important at this moment to keep faith but he is going to have a challenge to stay in the squad. In terms of the pool of players that are playing, it’s an area where we’d like more competition ideally.”

The Nations league is designed to make international breaks more important and competitive than friendlies. This, combined with the fact Southgate will be keen to continue to build the goodwill and feel good factor he generated during the World Cup, means he is likely to take these games seriously, with only some experimentation.