England Under-21s: Harry Kane In European Championship Squad
Tottenham striker Harry Kane has been included in the provisional England squad for the 2015 European Under-21 Championship.
West Brom striker Saido Berahino and Burnley forward Danny Ings are also named in the squad, but Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw is left out.
Gareth Southgate’s England side have won 13 of their last 14 matches.
The competition runs from 17-30 June in the Czech Republic, with England in a group with Italy, Portugal and Sweden.
Kane, 21, who scored six times in eight qualifying games, earned his first senior cap in March when he scored within two minutes of coming on as a substitute against Lithuania.
However, he drops back down to under-21 level, despite the fact that Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino did not want him to be selected.
“We go there as one of the favourites, we go there with belief and we want to challenge,” said Southgate.
“We’ve had individual achievements of players going up to the first team, but now they can go on and create a bit of history.”
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal had wanted Shaw to miss the tournament after an injury-disrupted campaign that has seen him only play 16 Premier League matches since joining United for £27m in June 2014.
“I have spoken to Louis regularly and Luke had been keen to come but medically he is not going to be fit,” added Southgate. “It is a shame for Luke because he is a player that has been a part of what we have done.”
Southgate defended his decision to not include other players that were eligible to play in the Czech Republic who have featured for Roy Hodgson’s senior England side.
Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling and Manchester United defender Phil Jones were all eligible to play in the competition, but not selected.
“With the guys that have been up with Roy for a year, I don’t feel it serves any purpose to bring them down into our squad,” said Southgate.
“I was able to pick them if I wanted to. Roy has said from the start ‘you take who you want to’.
“There are a couple of players that Roy would’ve wanted to take to the senior games in June but he wants to look long-term and see what’s best for the players.”
England have won the European Under-21 Championship on two occasions – in 1982 and 1984.
Their last appearance at the tournament in 2013 ended with the side managed by Stuart Pearce exiting at the group stage having lost all three of their matches.
The 27-man England squad
Goalkeepers
Marcus Bettinelli (Fulham), Jonathan Bond (Watford), Jack Butland (Stoke City)
Defenders
Calum Chambers (Arsenal), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Garbutt (Everton), Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough), Carl Jenkinson (Arsenal, on loan at West Ham United), Michael Keane (Burnley), Liam Moore (Leicester City), John Stones (Everton), Matt Targett (Southampton)
Midfielders
Tom Carroll (Tottenham Hotspur, on loan at Swansea City), Nathaniel Chalobah (Chelsea), Will Hughes (Derby County), Jake Forster-Caskey (Brighton & Hove Albion), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Alex Pritchard (Tottenham Hotspur), Nathan Redmond (Norwich City), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
Forwards
Benik Afobe (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Patrick Bamford (Chelsea, on loan at Middlesbrough), Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Danny Ings (Burnley), Cauley Woodrow (Fulham)
* The 27-man squad will be cut to 23 players by Uefa’s deadline on 2 June.
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