Published 27 August 2021 4 min read
Men's U21
Carsley names first MU21s squad
New-look squad named as England MU21s begin campaign with games against Romania and Kosovo
New England men’s under-21 head coach Lee Carsley has named a 24-man squad for his first games in charge of the Young Lions.
The group begin a new UEFA U21 EURO qualifying campaign in September, when they host Kosovo in Milton Keynes.
Before that, they travel to Bucharest to play a match against Romania, who will be joint hosts of the next U21 EURO Finals with Georgia in 2023.
And there’s no shortage of experience in Carsley’s squad either, with the likes of Joe Bursik, Max Aarons, Marc Guehi, Ryan Sessegnon, Conor Gallagher, Curtis Jones, Ollie Skipp, Rhian Brewster, Noni Madueke and Emile Smith-Rowe having all featured in the last campaign.
But as a new cycle begins for the team, there’s also number of fresh faces coming into the fold for the first time at MU21 level.
There’s a first England call-up at any level for Colchester-born goalkeeper Etienne Green, who plies his trade in France with Saint-Etienne.
While the rest of the squad are involved at MU21 level for the first time, they’ve all played for different England development teams in recent seasons.
Carsley, who will be assisted by Ashley Cole in his new role, will meet up with the squad next week before they travel to the Steaua Bucharest Stadium to play Romania on Friday 3 September (7pm BST).
It’s then back to home soil and Stadium MK for their opening qualifier against Kosovo on Tuesday 7 September (7pm BST), which will be screened live on Sky Sports.
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The Squad
Goalkeepers: Joe Bursik (Stoke City), Etienne Green (St. Etienne), Josh Griffiths (Lincoln City, loan from West Bromwich Albion)
Defenders: Max Aarons (Norwich City), Levi Samuels-Colwill (Huddersfield Town, loan from Chelsea), Charlie Cresswell (Leeds United), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Anderlecht, loan from Manchester City), Valentino Livramento (Southampton), Ryan Sessegnon (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Thomas (Leicester City)
Midfielders: Tommy Doyle (Manchester City), Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace, loan from Chelsea), Jimmy Garner (Nottingham Forest, loan from Manchester United), Curtis Jones (Liverpool)*, Cole Palmer (Manchester City), Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa), Oliver Skipp (Tottenham Hotspur),
Forward: Folarin Balogun (Arsenal), Rhian Brewster (Sheffield United), Harvey Elliott (Liverpool), Tyreece John-Jules (Blackpool, loan from Arsenal), Noni Madueke (PSV Eindhoven), Emile Smith-Rowe (Arsenal)
* Suspended for Kosovo game