A former England international has backed Adam Wharton to step out of the shadows and make his mark on Euro 2024 if given the opportunity by Gareth Southgate.

Wharton has been called up to the senior ranks for the first time ahead of the upcoming friendlies against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland. A final 26-man squad will then be named for the tournament in Germany, which kicks off with a group fixture against Serbia on Sunday, June 16.

The midfielder only made his England Under-21 debut a couple of months ago, coming off the bench in a 7-0 win against Luxembourg at Bolton.

Wharton left Rovers for a club-record fee to join Crystal Palace in the January window and has been earning rave reviews for the Eagles, making a seamless transition to Premier League football.

Ex-England full-back Paul Parker - who was part of the squad that reached the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy - reckons if given a chance to go to the Euros, the youngster could seize his moment to shine.

“There are always one or two players at least who step out from the shadows and make a mark on the tournament,” said Parker.

“Adam Wharton, the lad who has come from Blackburn Rovers, if he was to go to Germany, that would be a story. If he plays, everyone knows that lad is not going to let anyone down.

“I saw him play on quite a few occasions for Blackburn and I thought, ‘Oh, he has got something about him’.

“Now, he has come into the top division with Palace and looks like he has been doing it for ages. He has killed the myth of players needing time to settle into the Premier League.”

Southgate’s men also have matches against Denmark and Slovenia in the group stage as they aim to build on their run three years ago, which ended in penalty shoot-out heartbreak against Italy in the final.

The Three Lions boss has seemingly put his faith in the younger generation ahead of this summer’s tournament, with the likes of Kobbie Mainoo and Marc Guehi also called up while ex-Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was left out.

Earlier this month, The Lancashire Telegraph revealed that if Wharton goes on to represent England in a competitive match, the midfielder will trigger a clause in his move to Selhurst Park which will benefit Rovers financially.