Roy Hodgson is ready to take a calculated gamble by allowing Harry Kane to play in the European Under-21 Championship this summer despite that meaning the Tottenham Hotspur striker would barely have a break before Euro 2016.
Kane has not won a senior England cap but his improvement this season has been so stark there have already been high-level talks behind the scenes at the Football Association about the rigours of involving him in back-to-back international tournaments.
The same issue also affects John Stones, Luke Shaw, Ross Barkley, Saido Berahino and Calum Chambers, all of whom are expected to be in Gareth Southgate’s squad for this summer’s tournament in the Czech Republic.
Tottenham have privately expressed concerns about the possibilities of it catching up with Kane next season but the FA’s view is that the pros far outweigh the cons. “I am sure Gareth would love to have Harry with the under-21s,” Dan Ashworth, the FA’s technical director, said. “If we win it I am sure Harry will benefit enormously. It is the nearest thing he is going to get to winning something with the England seniors.
“It is our duty as a national association to try to get our best and most appropriate players to every single tournament. We want to go to tournaments and win them. I do get where they [Spurs] are coming from but obviously my duty is to do what’s best for England.”
Kane is in line for his first senior appearance in the Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania on 27 March, which is followed by the friendly against Italy in Turin three days later. His development after loan spells with Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester has pleasantly surprised Hodgson and it has also emerged the FA are increasingly monitoring his Spurs colleague, Alex Pritchard, currently on loan at Brentford, as someone who might also be a relatively late developer.
Pritchard, an attacking midfielder who also has had loan deals with Peterborough and Swindon, has already won England under-21 caps and has established himself as a key player in Brentford’s bid for promotion with seven goals.
Brentford’s 4-0 defeat of Blackpool on Tuesday was a case in point with Pritchard having 100 touches of the ball and managing 11 shots at goal. He, like Kane, is 21 and Ashworth is encouraged by the breakthrough of so many talented young players.
“We’ve got quite a few of that ilk in Berahino, [Danny] Ings and Kane, and we’ve also got Patrick Bamford scoring goals regularly at the top of the Championship for Middlesbrough, on loan from Chelsea,” Ashworth said.
“I’m encouraged we’ve got five or six. Jordon Ibe has got into Liverpool’s first team. Tom Ince has been rejuvenated in the last few weeks and is scoring at Derby. Then there is Pritchard scoring goals for Brentford and Nathan Redmond at Norwich.
“We’ve a good crop of young attacking players in the under-21s and under-20s and even younger.”
