Wales call up for Birmingham City ace Jordan James

Former England Under-20 international Jordan James has been called into the Wales squad for Nations League games against Belgium and Poland.

In a double blow for Wales boss Robert Page, though, Tottenham defender Ben Davies and Swansea midfielder Joe Allen have withdrawn.

Davies suffered a hairline fracture to the bone under his knee during Spurs’ Champions League defeat against Sporting Lisbon last week.

Allen, meanwhile, picked up a hamstring problem when Swansea beat Championship opponents Hull on Saturday.

Birmingham’s Hereford-born midfielder James has returned to the Wales fold, having made two substitute appearances for England Under-20s in March.

James, whose father is Welsh, made his Wales Under-18 debut against England last year and he was named in Wales’ Under-21 squad four days ago for a friendly against Austria later this month.

Wales Under-21 manager Matty Jones said: “A lot of players have dual nationality and are going to get a lot of attention from other nations. It becomes a competition for us.

“Jordan was deflated somewhat with his (England) experience for a number of reasons, and we are delighted he has come back to his brothers with open arms.”

James, 18, wins his first senior squad call-up, with Wales tackling Belgium in Brussels on Thursday before hosting Poland in Cardiff three days later.