Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala has been handed his first England Under-21s call-up.
The forward has been included for this month’s Euro 2021 qualifiers against Andorra and Albania.
Derby defender Lee Buchanan is also in the squad for the first time with boss Aidy Boothroyd ready to experiment having already qualified for next year’s tournament.
Our #YoungLions are heading back to Molineux this month for their final two #U21EURO qualifiers! 👊— England (@England) November 6, 2020
“Jamal has been doing really well at Bayern Munich, getting a couple of starts and making a number of cameo appearances and when you’re involved in a team of Bayern Munich’s quality you have to take notice of that,” he said.
“We’ve been tracking him for quite a while and he has been in the system. I work very closely with not only Les Reed but John McDermott and Lee Carsley, as well as Gareth (Southgate), in terms of when it is right for players to come into the squad.
“The fact that we qualified with two games to go is a real credit to the players and the staff.
“It means we can give one or two people a rest and we can introduce one or two people who have been doing well, like Jamal.
“If you look at the likes of Jamal and Curtis Jones, then it shows how much talent we have available and the depth of the squad.
“When it comes around to March we’ll be in a different place, some players will be in form, others out of form and some players who’ve found themselves out of the squad, will find themselves in the squad because of their form for their club team.”
Musiala, 17, came through Chelsea’s academy before moving to Germany in 2019 and has been previously capped at under-16 and under-17 level.
Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi, Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham, Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones and Sheffield United’s Rhian Brewster are all included.
Everton’s Ben Godfrey and Tom Davies miss out through injury.
There was no place for Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood, eligible for the Under-21s, after he was also left out of the senior squad for the second consecutive month.
In September he was sent home from Iceland with Phil Foden for breaching coronavirus quarantine guidelines and missed October’s meet as a punishment.
England host Andorra on November 13 and Albania on November 17, both at Molineux, having already qualified for next month’s tournament in Hungary and Slovenia.
England Under-21 squad: Austin (Tottenham), Bursik (Stoke, on loan at Doncaster), Ramsdale (Sheffield United), Aarons (Norwich), Buchanan (Derby), Guehi (Chelsea, on loan at Swansea), Justin (Leicester), Kelly (Bournemouth), Lamptey (Brighton), Panzo (Dijon), Williams (Liverpool), Wilmot (Watford), Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Dasilva (Brentford), Eze (Crystal Palace), Gallagher (Chelsea on loan at West From), Jones (Liverpool), Skipp (Tottenham, on loan at Norwich), Brewster (Sheffield United), Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea), McNeil (Burnley), Musiala (Bayern Munich), Nketiah (Arsenal), Sessegnon (Tottenham on loan at Hoffenheim)
