England assembled one of the most experienced squads for the European u21 Championship but are out after two games. The Chelsea youth get an early summer.
Aidy Boothroyd is the England u21 manager. Do not worry about committing his name to memory, because he will surely be without a job in short order.
England entered the u21 Euros with a squad full of Premier League players and brimming with talent. France was a tough opponent to start with and Romania is no slouche at youth level either, but to be eliminated as early as possible is nothing short of a disaster for the squad that was assembled.
Boothroyd will surely face the sack because of his failings in the two matches. For Chelsea, it means the many youth they had in the tournament will return for an early summer.
Fikayo Tomori, Jake Clarke-Salter (the captain), and Jay Dasilva started both matches. The Blues will offer the biggest barrier for entry in defense but all three still have a shot at returning next season. With Clarke-Salter and Tomori, it will surely be either or. Dasilva will be down to whether or not Emerson or Marcos Alonso depart.
Other than that, the lineup has been scattershot for Boothroyd. Phil Foden started against France and Mason Mount against Romania. It should come as no shock to anyone that Foden is ahead of Mount currently, but what was the reason for the switch?
The striker spot caused the most contention. Dominic Solanke started the first match and by all accounts did little to nothing. Dominic Calvert-Lewin started the second, but it was not until Tammy Abraham came on that England started to threaten. There were five changes between the two matches and aside from the red card enforced one, the changes seemed to have no real rhyme or reason.
Many have come away from the tournament saying that the Chelsea youth are not ready. And while it remains hard to deny it will be a gamble to rely on them this coming season, it would be a mistake to draw conclusions from this tournament. Boothroyd made several mistakes tactically and in his lineup selection that cost a very talent group their chance at the tournament.
Abraham, for instance, did more in his cameos than either other striker did with their starts. Given the right service, he can shine. Mount was not going to be starting over Foden or James Maddison, but he still showed up well in the minutes he played. Dasilva offered a threat and Clarke-Salter looked sharp.
Tomori, however, did many of the things the normally does that makes people question his readiness. Tomori was mistake prone, just as he was many times throughout the season. If it comes down to Clarke-Salter or Tomori to stay (which, it probably should not be given how many other centerback options Chelsea has), then Clarke-Salter is the readier option.
But one bright side Chelsea can take from the tournament is that their corps of players will now get some early rest heading into preseason. Given that spots are very much up for grabs this coming season, England’s early elimination may be a blessing in disguise for the Chelsea youth.