Four Chelsea youth named to England U19 squad
By George Perry
Chelsea’s academy leads the way as England U19 manager Aidy Boothroyd names four of Chelsea’s youth for the Under-19 European Championship.
The UEFA Under-19 European Championships begin next week, and four Chelsea youth players will compete for England at the tournament. England’s U19 manager Aidy Boothroyd named Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori and strikers Dominic Solanke, Isaiah Brown and Tammy Abraham to the England squad.
Chelsea has the largest contingent of youth players represented in the England team. Everton’s academy is second with three players.
The four players were all part of Chelsea’s academy winning side in the 2014/15 UEFA Youth League competition. Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori went on to repeat that achievement with the academy the following year.
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Chelsea’s quartet have all been capped in at least two years for England’s U19 squad. Brown and Tomori lead the way with 17 appearances for England’s U19, followed by Abraham’s 16 caps and Solanke’s 11. Brown also has the most goals among these four young Blues for England’s U19, netting 14 in between 2013-15.
Isaiah Brown and Dominic Solanke both spent last season on loan at Vitesse Arnhem. Solanke scored seven goals in 25 appearances for “Chelsea B,” while Brown scored one goal in 22 appearances.
At Vitesse, Solanke was involved in a public contract dispute with Chelsea. Solanke’s contract with Chelsea expires at the end of the 2016/17 season, and the youngster would like to ascend to his childhood club’s first team. Chelsea fulfilled much of their reputation for youth development by showing little sign of rewarding Solanke for his achievements at the academy and at Vitesse.
England is in Group B, and opens the tournament against France on July 12. The Three Lions then play the Netherlands on July 15 and Croatia on July 18.
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England had not qualified for the tournament since 2012, and the Three Lions have not won a U19 European Championship since 1993. England hosted the tournament that year, providing the home fans a showcase for the highly touted generation of Michael Owen, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville.