This summer sees England U21s take part in the European Championships in the Czech Republic, and there’s likely to be representation from Everton in one form or another. Ross Barkley, John Stones and Luke Garbutt all appear to be in contention for places in Gareth Southgate’s squad, but would their selection be beneficial for them long-term? Let’s look at each player in turn.
Ross Barkley – After last season’s exploits in a blue shirt, this campaign has been somewhat “after the Lord Mayor’s show” for Ross. Of course, he’s not the only one as pretty much all of the squad have been below par, but Ross himself has admitted he has not performed at his best this year. Despite this, he still finds himself in Roy Hodgson’s latest senior England squad and made an appearance from the bench against Lithuania. To be honest, I don’t think Hodgson knows where to play Barkley so sporadic cameos from the bench is probably the best he can hope for at the moment. Still, he is in and around the senior squad, so is there anything to be gained by dropping down a level and going to the u21 Championships? I suppose it’s the international equivalent of going out on loan to the lower leagues, but I’m not sure it’ll be that beneficial for Ross.
Since he broke into the first team consistently at the start of the 2013-14 season, he hasn’t had a sustained rest. Yes, he didn’t have much game time at the World Cup last summer, and yes, he was out injured at the start of this season, but he probably needs a break mentally as much as physically from football. I think he needs a chance to reset himself for sustained period of time and come back refreshed next season. Martinez himself has advocated Ross having a rest this summer. Obviously I’m biased, but I don’t think these championships will make or break his career and taking into account form and fitness, and it would probably be best for Ross in the long-term to give them a miss.
John Stones – He’s been in and out of the Everton team due to injury over the past 12 months, but when he has played he has performed at a consistently high level. After a couple of senior appearances last summer, he wasn’t picked for the World Cup squad. Likewise, he has been bizarrely overlooked again for the latest squad, as Hodgson seems to believe Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are superior footballers. Anyway, this means he’s been involved with the U21s and is almost certain to be selected in the summer. In contrast to Barkley, I wouldn’t have too many qualms about him going. He’s clearly not in Hodgson’s plans at the moment, however strange that may be, and he seems to be in a good moment of form (*copyright Roberto) so it could be a good experience for him to carry that into a tournament. A good showing there would surely put him in the senior picture sooner rather than later.
Luke Garbutt – The former Leeds man has been impressive this season deputising at left-back and looks set to be involved in the summer. It’s somewhat unfortunate for Luke that there seems to be a plethora of quality English left-backs at the moment, and so a senior call-up seems a long way off at the moment. Of course, he needs to establish himself in the Everton starting XI first, that is, assuming he will still be at Goodison next season. We are still yet to hear anything on the contract front. Regardless of this, I don’t see anything preventing Luke from going to the u21 Championship in the summer. He hasn’t played that much football and I’m sure it will aid his development in certain aspects.
All in all, there’s a good chance all 3 may be going, and naturally I hope they do well. I can’t help but feel however, that whilst Stones and Garbutt would probably get something out of it, Barkley could do with a break. Only time will tell. I should perhaps give an honourable mention to Tyias Browning as well who has been involved in past u21 squads. However, it seems he has fallen out of favour recently and appears unlikely to be involved which is a shame. Nevertheless, it’s always good to see some of our own representing England at any level, so whoever gets selected, hopefully they do the business and return fit and healthy.
