Jake Clarke-Salter named England U21 captain for European Championships

Chelsea’s youth academy, one of the best in the world, has been a key part of England’s recent successes on the youth international scene. It’s therefore no surprise that no fewer than five academy graduates have been called up to the England squad for the U21 European Championships, which began this weekend in Italy.

They five include Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Jay Dasilva, and Jake Clarke-Salter, with Clarke-Salter even getting the extra honor of being named captain of the team ahead of England’s first match on Tuesday, against heavy-hitters France.

Jake Clarke-Salter, who has two senior Chelsea appearances to his name, has previously captained the Chelsea U18s and spent last season at Vitesse where he was a regular starter. He was also part of England’s U20 World Cup-winning team two years ago.

“It’s a massive honour for me to captain England at such a big tournament like this.

“When I look at the players who have played in the U21 Euros, along with the quality of the squad we have now, it’s such a proud feeling to be named captain. It’s a big responsibility to lead the team and make sure we keep our standards as high as we expect them to be on and off the pitch.

“We know we have a big job to do over the next couple of weeks if we want to achieve the success we hope and believe we can at the Euros. We’ve got a lot of natural leaders in the team and a lot of talent and we’re going to do everything we can to try and win this tournament.”

- Jake Clarke-Salter; source: Evening Standard

England have been drawn in a group with France, Croatia, and Romania, all three of whom will provide a great challenge to 21-year-old Clarke-Salter and his fellow England defenders. Could be fun to watch!