England Under 21's - The future is looking bright

Nearly the start the European Under 21's Championship and I personally am really looking forward to catching some glimpses at the future crop of England stars. Let's face it. The likes of Terry, Lampard, Gerrard, Parker aren't getting any younger and Capello is now starting to give more opportunities to the younger bunch and players such as Walcott, Wilshere and Hart have taken there chances and cemented their places in the senior squad and are all usually found in the starting 11.


This is the 23 man squad that manager Stuart Pearce has decided to take out of the provisional 40 man squad he had chosen (shown in the image):


GOALKEEPERS
Frankie Fielding (Derby County), Jason Steele (Middlesbrough), Alex McCarthy (Reading),

DEFENDERS
Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jones (Blackburn Rovers), Michael Mancienne (Hamburg), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Kyle Walker(Tottenham Hotspur)

MIDFIELDERS
Marc Albrighton (Aston Villa), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Jack Cork (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Sunderland), Henri Lansbury (Arsenal), Fabrice Muamba (Bolton Wanderers), Jack Rodwell (Everton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Scott Sinclair (Swansea City)

FORWARDS
Nathan Delfouneso (Aston Villa), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United),Connor Wickham (Ipswich Town)


This is an exciting looking squad and I cant wait to find out the full capabilities of the squad against Europe's finest young teams. The majority of all these players have had opportunities at their respective clubs so should be very excited about showcasing their talents on the national stage. Good luck to them.


These are the 3 players I believe you should be looking out for not only in this tournament but for their respective clubs and the senior national team in years to come:


Frankie Fielding - The 21's first choice goalkeeper and definitely has the potential for brilliance in the future, may have to  wait a while for his chance behind the quite young Joe Hart in the senior squad but has definitely shown the credentials for a big future in the game.


Daniel Sturridge - Exploded onto the premier league scene with a number of high quality performances at Bolton, this is the player expected to fire the team to European Glory as the main leader of the attack. I fully back him to do this and further enhance his status as one of England's hottest prospects. Fingers crossed he gets regular first team football next year as he needs to be playing to keep growing as a player.


Jordan Henderson - Influential centre midfielder who has already notched his first senior cap. Am definitely expecting to see him start from the centre of the park and be the quality all round player he has proven himself to be at Sunderland this season, in the transfer news as a possible target for Liverpool and Manchester United and I can see why. Hopefully he can make the team tick in the Championships and have an integral role in their potential success.


Come on England! Lets hope one of our national teams can do us proud for once!


Matt Cooper