Tottenham insider John Wenham, who regularly breaks news on the club’s academy set-up, has noticed something rather bizarre after the England youth squads were announced last week.
The senior England squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers were announced last week and Dominic Solanke was the only Tottenham representative in Thomas Tuchel’s first squad.
Djed Spence and James Maddison would have both been disappointed to have been left out as the full-back and the attacking midfielder have been in fine form of late.
However, it is not just Maddison and Spence who would feel hard done by but also several of the club’s academy players, who were inexplicably ignored for national selection.
Tottenham players culled from England youth sides
John Wenham has now pointed out via his Lilywhite Rose social media platform that there are a number of surprising absentees from England’s Under-21s squad.
Lee Carsley announced his squad for the friendlies against France and Portugal, and Archie Gray was the only Tottenham representative.
It was a similar case in the Under-20s squad, with Dane Scarlett and Ashley Phillips being the only Spurs players who have made the cut.
Wenham questioned why the likes of George Abbott, Jamie Donley, Alfie Dorrington, Will Lankshear and others have not been included despite their impressive performances.
The selection criteria for England seem fairly clear
The one clear pattern in Ben Futcher and Lee Carsley’s selection decisions is that there are very few players from League One making the cut, with youngsters playing in the Championship or the top flight being preferred.
That is perhaps what counted against the likes of George Abbott, Alfie Dorrington, and Will Lankshear – with the latter not yet a regular starter for West Brom.
However, the Jamie Donley mystery is a little easier to solve. Donley has now switched his allegiance to Northern Ireland and will link up with the senior squad this month.
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