England manager Gareth Southgate named his first squad as permanent manager on Thursday ahead of their games with Germany and Lithuania next week.

The former Middlesbrough boss had been caretaker manager following the resignation of Roy Hodgson after England’s disastrous Euro 2016, but signed a four-year deal to become the full-time boss at the end of November, having led the Three Lions to two wins and two draws in his four games in temporary charge.

And Thursday saw the 46-year-old name his first squad since taking over permanently, and he made a few surprise selections, with 34-year-old striker Jermain Defoe earning a recall over three years since his last cap, while there were also call-ups for Southampton’s uncapped duo of Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse.

Burnley defender Michael Keane, West Brom midfielder Jake Livermore, and West Ham attacker Michail Antonio were also named in the 26-man squad.

However, there was no place for Arsenal’s Theo Walcott and Tottenham’s Harry Kane, the latter due to injury, while captain Wayne Rooney also missed out on selection, with the England skipper struggling with a calf problem.

Nonetheless, it could signal the beginning of the end for England’s record goal-scorer, especially as he is not getting much gametime at Manchester United, which means that Southgate may be considering who will be his next captain, with reports over the last few days suggesting that Tottenham’s Kane is a contender for the role.

Thus, here are THREE stars who could potentially replace Rooney as England skipper…

Jordan Henderson

He was given the armband earlier in the season when Southgate dropped Rooney to the bench against Slovenia, so Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson is clearly in the running for the job on a full time basis.

The 26-year-old has been capped 32 times by his country since his debut all the way back in 2010, and played ten of England’s 14 games in 2016, although only one of their four at their ill-fated Euro 2016 campaign.

Nonetheless, Henderson has been a main-stay under Southgate and indeed started Sam Allardyce’s only game in charge since the Euro’s, and although he is not in the squad due to injury, he will surely return the next time the national team meet up in June.

And, who knows, he could be captain when that happens again in the summer.

John Stones

Manchester City defender John Stones is slowly but surely becoming an England regular, and at the age of 22, he has a long international career in front of him.

And he could well be a future England captain as well.

The 22-year-old moved to City last summer in a £47.5 million deal, and although he has still made some high-profile mistakes, there’s no doubt that Pep Guardiola is helping him improve as a modern-day defender.

With just 15 games for England, and none at a major tournament, Stones is still relatively inexperienced at international level, yet he has been a regular in the side over the past few months, and Southgate may see Stones as his ideal skipper for years to come.

Harry Kane

Harry Kane is the one man who looks to be the frontrunner for the England captaincy, according to The Mirror.

Three Lions boss Southgate has been impressed with the 23-year-old both in terms of his goal-scoring form and leadership qualities shown this season, with the Tottenham man having netted 19 goals in 22 Premier League games, and occasionally captained the side.

At 23 and with five goals in 17 games for England already, Kane looks set for a long international career with the Three Lions, and given Daniel Sturridge’s struggles at Liverpool and the dip in form of Jamie Vardy this term, he also seems to be their main man upfront.

Southgate hasn’t had the luxury of selecting the Spurs man yet due to injury, yet you sense that the striker is a serious contender for the role when Rooney’s international career comes to a close.