England MU21s squad named for Northern Ireland and Austria

The England men’s under-21s squad to kick-off the 2024-25 season with games against Northern Ireland and Austria in September has been named.

Interim head coach Ben Futcher has selected a 24-man group for the fixtures, which start with a trip to Ballymena for their next UEFA U21 EURO qualifier on Friday 6 September.

Among the group, there’s first MU21 call-ups for Brighton defender Jack Hinshelwood, Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson and Ipswich Town forward Omari Hutchinson while Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton is named in the squad following his experience with the senior squad at EURO 2024 in the summer.

After the trip to Northern Ireland, the Young Lions then head to Luton Town on Monday 9 September, where they will face an international against Austria with focus on preparation for their final two EURO qualifiers in October against Ukraine and Azerbaijan.

England sit second in their qualification group, level on points with first-place Ukraine having played an extra fixture.

They beat Northern Ireland 3-0 at Goodison Park in the first fixture of this campaign between the two in November 2023. Their last outing resulted in a 7-0 rout of Luxembourg at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in March.

Speaking about the camp, Futcher said: “Personally, it will obviously be a huge honour to lead out the MU21s for the first time.

“It's great to see Lee [Carsley] making the step-up to the senior side after being so successful with the MU21s. For me, it has been a great experience to work with the Elite League Squad over the past year, and now it's brilliant to have the opportunity to bring together a very talented group of players who can see a very direct link between all the pathway teams.

“We're not going to try and reinvent things and it will be very much a case of trying to continue the work that Lee and his staff have done with this age group.

“Our main job is to get the best out of a really talented group.”

Tickets for the game at Luton are still on sale, while the October games with Ukraine in Bournemouth and Azerbaijan are also now on sale.

The Squad

Goalkeepers: James Beadle (Sheffield Wednesday, loan from Brighton and Hove Albion), Matthew Cox (Brentford)*, James Trafford (Burnley)

Defenders: Charlie Cresswell (FC Toulouse), Callum Doyle (Norwich City, loan from Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle United), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Southampton), Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton and Hove Albion), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Nathan Wood (Southampton),

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Tom Fellows (West Bromwich Albion)*, Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur), Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough), James McAtee (Manchester City), Tyler Morton (Liverpool), Jonathan Rowe (Olympique de Marseille)*, Alex Scott (AFC Bournemouth) 

Forwards: Jamie Gittens (Borussia Dortmund), Liam Delap (Ipswich Town), Sam Iling-Junior (Bologna FC, loan from Aston Villa), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)

*Matthew Cox (Brentford), Tom Fellows (West Bromwich Albion) and Jonathan Rowe (Olympique de Marseille) have joined England MU21s ahead of their upcoming fixtures against Northern Ireland and Austria.

Harvey Elliott (Liverpool), Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich Town), Jaden Philogene (Aston Villa) and Sam Tickle (Wigan Athletic) initially reported to St. George’s Park earlier this week but have now returned to their clubs for further medical assessment. Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace) will also play no part in the upcoming fixtures, with the midfielder remaining with his club on medical advice.