Two first international call-ups in MU20 squad

Fleetwood Town’s James Hill and Liverpool goalkeeper Harvey Davies have received their maiden England call-ups after being named in the men's under-20s squad for their first game of 2021.

Davies is one of many players in the 23-man squad who have come through the ranks at leading Premier League clubs, having been at Liverpool since U9 level.

For Hill, pictured above, he became Fleetwood’s youngest ever player when he made his debut in 2018 aged 16 and the defender has since made 42 appearances in all competitions for the League One club.

Our MU20s have not played an international match since October last year, when they beat Wales by 2-0, but they'll be back in action on Monday 6 September when they face Romania at St. George’s Park.

Following the appointment of Lee Carsley as the new England MU21s boss, the U20s will be led by Andy Edwards, with former Charlton Athletic striker Jason Euell as his assistant and Danny Alcock as the goalkeeper coach.

Edwards is a former Southend United and Peterborough United defender who had been manager of Leyton Orient prior to joining the England set up in 2017, initially as a national specialist coach working across all England development teams.

With no UEFA or FIFA competitions for this age group, the MU20s will play a number of games against European opposition this season.

Following September’s match with Romania, the Young Lions will take on Italy at St. George’s Park on Thursday 7 October, before a trip to Czech Republic on Monday 11 October and Portugal on Thursday 11 November.

The Squad

Goalkeepers: Harvey Davies (Liverpool), James Trafford (Accrington Stanley, loan from Manchester City), Brad Young (Leicester City)

Defenders: Lee Buchanan (Derby County), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Dennis Cirkin (Sunderland), Cody Drameh (Leeds United), James Hill (Fleetwood Town), Kaine Kesler-Hayden (Swindon Town, loan from Aston Villa), Clinton Mola (VFB Stuttgart)  Nathan Wood (Middlesbrough)

Midfielders: Miguel Azeez (Arsenal), Lewis Bate (Leeds United), Leighton Clarkson (Blackburn Rovers, loan from Liverpool),  James McAtee (Manchester City), Louie Sibley (Derby County)*, Jensen Weir (Cambridge United, loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)

Forwards: Joseph Gelhardt (Leeds United), Sam Greenwood (Leeds United), Alex Mighten (Nottingham Forest), Jaden Philogene-Bidace (Aston Villa), Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (Crystal Palace)**, Morgan Rogers (AFC Bournemouth, loan from Manchester City)

* Replaces Faustino Anjorin (Chelsea)
** Replaces Anthony Gordon (Everton)