Ipswich Town duo Trevoh Chalobah and Ben Morris have officially been named in the England squad that has travelled to Finland for the European Under-19 Championships.
Defender/midfielder Chalobah – who joined the Blues on a season-long loan from Chelsea at the start of this month – was part of the England team which won this tournament in Georgia last summer, with his employers keen on him being part of the squad again.
Colchester-born striker Morris, who came through the youth ranks at Playford Road, earns his first U19 call-up having previously represented the Young Lions at U17 and U18 level.
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Town midfielder trio Andre Dozzell, Flynn Downes and Tristan Nydam have all been capped at U19 level in the last year, but none are part of Paul Simpson’s squad.
Dozzell, who played a key role in Georgia last summer, is only just returning to action following a year on the sidelines.
It’s understood that Nydam was overlooked, while Town turned down the request to call-up Downes as they wanted him to be part of their pre-season preparations.
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England face Turkey in Seinajoki in their opening group game on Tuesday, followed by Ukraine and France. The Final will take place on July 29, less than a week before Town’s Championship opener against Blackburn Rovers at Portman Road.
On Chalobah’s call-up, Blues boss Paul Hurst said: “It’s not ideal but I did know that when we signed him. We had that conversation so that one, in a lot of ways, is self-inflicted.
“I can take the hit, it’s not ideal, but I think he’ll prove a very good player for us over the course of the season and therefore I felt it was worth doing.”
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England U19 head coach Paul Simpson said: “We ideally want to achieve at least a semi-final spot or better as it will guarantee our place in next year’s U20s World Cup and this group is more than capable of that.
“They all want to play for England. There is a huge buzz around England at the moment, especially because of what the senior team have done in Russia, and it’s now up to us to go and continue that positive feeling.”
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FA technical director Dan Ashworth says it’s frustrating that a number of clubs have turned down requests for their players to be involved, although he understands their position.
“It’s bitterly disappointing that, once again, this tournament is scheduled outside a FIFA window which forces clubs to make such difficult decisions,” he said.
“We understand the dilemmas the clubs face around release of players during this particular time of the season and it’s our view, and that of several other countries, that UEFA should take this into account when scheduling tournaments of this magnitude.”
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England U19s: Ellery Balcombe (Brentford), Jamie Cumming (Chelsea), Trevoh Chalobah (Ipswich Town, on loan from Chelsea), Nathan Ferguson (West Bromwich Albion), Ed Francis (Almere City, on loan from Manchester City), Tariq Lamptey (Chelsea), Dujon Sterling (Coventry City, on loan from Chelsea), Japhet Tanganga (Tottenham Hotspur), Tom Bayliss (Coventry City), Elliot Embleton (Sunderland), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Nya Kirby (Crystal Palace), Adam Lewis (Liverpool), Max Sanders (Brighton & Hove Albion), Marcus Tavernier (Middlesbrough), Kelland Watts (Newcastle United), Ben Brereton (Nottingham Forest), Niall Ennis (Wolverhampton Wanderers), George Hirst (OH Leuven), Ben Morris (Ipswich Town).
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