A pair of Chelsea players have been named to the England U21 squad for the upcoming international break. Josh McEachran has been one of the younger players on the roster in recent matches, and he was again called upon by Stuart Pearce. Joining him for the first time at the U21 level will be 17-year old Nathaniel Chalobah, who has been impressing everyone with his play at Watford. Pearce had the following to say about the squad he named:
"This will be an opportunity for a number of younger players, and those who have not had much game time, to impress and put themselves in contention for a place on the plane next summer. There are young players within this group who will be able to go again with the Under-21s for the 2015 campaign, so every chance to play for England will give them experience they will no doubt call upon in the future."
The squad in full can be found below:
Goalkeepers: Ben Amos (Manchester United), Sam Johnstone (Manchester United), Jason Steele (Middlesbrough)
Defenders: Nathaniel Chalobah (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton), Tom Lees (Leeds United), Liam Moore (Leicester City), Jack Robinson (Liverpool), Adam Smith (Tottenham Hotspur), Andre Wisdom (Liverpool)
Midfielders: Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Will Hughes (Derby County), Jason Lowe (Blackburn Rovers), Josh McEachran (Chelsea), Nick Powell (Manchester United), Andros Townsend (Tottenham Hotspur)
Forwards: Benik Afobe (Arsenal), Sammy Ameobi (Newcastle United), Tom Ince (Blackpool), Connor Wickham (Sunderland), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
Chalobah is listed as a defender by the FA website, but frankly I wouldn't let that be a concern. He's been listed that way for years now, despite often featuring in the midfield for them.
Hopefully this is an opportunity for both players to get some more time on the pitch. Both have been terrific so far this year, and both really do deserve to be starting over guys like Jordan Henderson (who hasn't done much for Liverpool). Congratulations guys, and good luck.