Football

What England Under-21 squad shows about the futures of Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd


When you look at the latest squad of England U21 stars, not one top six club jumps out at you as having a number of representatives which have played regularly this season in the Premier League.

Leicester City have four of their first team players among the ranks, which is something to be incredibly proud of.

James Maddison, Demarai Gray, Hamza Choudhury and Harvey Barnes have all featured regularly this season under both Claude Puel and Brendan Rodgers.

So should the big clubs be using the Foxes as an example of how to develop young talent?

Chelsea

The Blues have five representatives in Aidy Boothroyd’s squad, but only one of them has been involved in Maurizio Sarri’s plans this season.

Jake Clarke-Salter (Vitesse), Jay Dasilva (Bristol City), Fikayo Tomori (Derby County) and Tammy Abraham (Aston Villa) have all been out on loan this season.

Callum Hudson-Odoi remains the only figure to stay at Stamford Bridge this season but even then he has been made an example of since he handed in a transfer request in January.

With Chelsea set to face a two-window transfer ban, the Blues should be ready to throw these youngsters into action into their first team next season.

Admittedly it’s unlikely to happen and these players are all at a stage in their career where they need to play football.

If it’s not guaranteed in west London, they should also seek an exit elsewhere on a permanent deal, continuous loan moves are only holding them back more.

Liverpool

Liverpool do not have a single player in the Under 21 squad for the upcoming matches.

Now in Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold they possess two of the finest talents the country has to offer.

This has seen them fast-tracked into Gareth Southgate’s senior squad quicker than the usual settling in period in the youth set up.

But Jurgen Klopp should feel alarmed that for one of the biggest clubs in the country, they do not have more players making their mark at Under 21 level.

Manchester United

Considering there was once a time where Manchester United were perhaps the pride and joy of the Three Lions, similarly to Liverpool their situation is bizarre.

Young players need to play to grow into the best in the world and that is not guaranteed at Old Trafford.

But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has already shown faith in a number of academy products sparking hope that the future maybe bright for young English players at the club.

Dean Henderson is the only United player within the squad, but he has been plying his trade with Sheffield United on loan this season.

There must be more of an emphasis on pushing youngsters through the academy ranks at Carrington, for the biggest club in England, it’s disappointing to find just one player in the squad.



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