Will and Michael Keane, along with Nathaniel Chalobah could all be sweating on their place in Gareth Southgate’s England under-21 side next month to face Wales.
England under-21 manager Gareth Southgate could look to keep things fresh going into next month’s European Championship match against Wales.
With several young players up-and-down the country currently bang in form at club level, we take a look at three players who have slipped out of form and could coincidentally lose their place in the national youth side.
Nathaniel Chalobah – Chelsea / Middlesbrough
At the start of the season Chalobah was tipped as one of the brightest young talents in the country, however, an underwhelming loan spell at Nottingham Forest coupled with a sloppy start at Middlesbrough, to which he hasn’t been on the winning side yet, could see him lose his place in the U21 set-up. The Chelsea starlet will be hoping for a much better end to the season, and will want to start afresh next term.
Michael Keane – Manchester United
The 21-year-old defender has been a reliable performer in the England set-up over the past year, however, a poor loan spell at Derby County has placed a dampener on his reputation. The form of other players around the country of a similar age group isn’t helping the centre-back’s chances either. He could be moved out the side to make way for Nottingham Forest’s in-form centre-back Jamaal Lascelles or Fulham’s Dan Burn.
Will Keane – Manchester United
Michael’s highly-rated brother Will Keane could also be for the chop. Again, largely due to other players around the country performing to a high standard. Will signed for QPR on deadline day, but to date has only played 57 minutes of football under Harry Redknapp in a 3-1 defeat to promotion rivals Reading. He also failed to net in a short loan-spell at Reading and with Bamford stepping up a lot more, he could lose out.
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