Three Chelsea players in provisional England U21 squad for European Championships

Compared to most summers, the summer of 2015 will be fairly light on international tournaments.  We only have to watch out for the Copa America in Chile potentially disrupting preparations for next season.  For some of our younger players however, there's also the UEFA Under-21 Championship in the Czech Republic, for which England are sure to be one of the favorites as the top seed heading in.

This morning, manager Gareth Southgate announced his provisional squad and three Chelsea players got the call:  Patrick Bamford, Nathaniel Chalobah, and new face at this level Ruben Loftus-Cheek.  Loftus-Cheek is at least a year younger than any other member of the squad.

The full provisional squad is as follows.  Four will have to be cut in the next week or so before the final 23-man squads are announced for the tournament that's set to take place during the final two weeks of June.

Goalkeepers: Marcus Bettinelli (Fulham), Jonathan Bond (Watford), Jack Butland (Stoke City)

Defenders: Callum Chambers (Arsenal), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Garbutt (Everton), Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough), Carl Jenkinson (Arsenal), Michael Keane (Burnley), Liam Moore (Leicester City), John Stones (Everton), Matt Targett (Southampton)

Midfielders: Tom Carroll (Tottenham), Nathaniel Chalobah (Chelsea) Jake Forster-Caskey (Brighton & Hove Albion), Will Hughes (Derby County), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Alex Pritchard (Tottenham Hotspur), Nathan Redmond (Norwich City), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)

Forwards: Benik Afobe (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Patrick Bamford (Chelsea), Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion), Danny Ings (Burnley), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Cauley Woodrow (Fulham)