England Under 21 Discussions Thread (2004+ born) #8

Rosenior hasn’t done much for his development has he….

 

Ashley Cole is reportedly set to become manager of Cesena in Serie B. Would potentially mean he gives up the 21s assistant job.

 

Given I'm guessing he doesn't speak a lick of Italian that's got to be unusual in Italy.

 

He was in Italy for 2-years playing for Roma so he may well speak a decent amount

 

I thought we was only there a year, doesn't strike me as a linguist!

 

And his wife is Italian - I’m sure he has licked up bits after over a decade together and two kids.

 

Rosenior: "Jamie (Gittens) was due back on the bench and felt his hamstring late yesterday. Estevao is out and Pedro (Neto) is suspended."

— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) March 14, 2026

Rosenior on Jorgensen and Acheampong absences: "Filip will be back really, really soon. Josh, for me, that's just a decision I made in terms of the bench, what we needed for a really physical, dominant Newcastle team when it comes to set plays. Having Benoit [Badiashile], Mamadou… https://t.co/Sb8fjPjD8e

— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) March 14, 2026

Rosenior doesn’t seem to rate Acheampong

* I meant picked,

 

Rosenior seems to be getting a fair bit of criticism from Chelsea fans for his handling of Acheampong. Mental he thinks Tosin and Badiashille better options for against Newcastle. I bet that’s what his stats book tells him….

 

I think it's fairly clear that Rosenior is broadly told who to play. Chelsea made a huge pre tax loss this year and are probably going to sell Acheampong for pure profit.

 

Well, let’s hope he gets sold in the Summer to someone who will play him. Whenever we have young Dual players that seems to spend more time on the bench than on the pitch it pushes them closer to a potential switch as someone like Ghana won’t care he’s a bench player where as he’s a lot less likely to make the England squad. I don’t think we’re there yet with Josh as long as he’s picked for the U21’s but the longer it goes on, the likelier it becomes imo.

 

Yeah exactly. We need them to be close to senior contention by the time they're no longer U21 eligible ideally.

 

Luckily Acheampong still has another 3 years of U21 eligibility

 

Rico Lewis is currently injured so I do not think he will be involved in these upcoming matches.

 

Lewis Miley won’t be be back for Newcastle until after the International break so will miss these matches,

 

Glad Madrid didn't rush Bellingham back.
If he gets injured again after this, it will probably rule him out of the WC

 

Another brace for Ballard, bringing up his 20th of the season for Leyton Orient. Also particularly impressive to say Leyton Orient are 19th in the table.

I can't say I have seen him at all so hard to judge him as an overall player but surely a certainty for a step up in level in summer based on goal record alone. Adam Armstrong a decade ago was the last under 21 to hit 20 goals in league 1.

Jimmy-Jay Morgan also keeps a quitely decent season that keeps his progression ticking along with his 10th goal, though I guess he's for the under 20 thread.

 

Hattrick now

 

Hopefully he’s in the squad, would be a bit silly for him not be, given the injuries and that he’s obviously been rated in the past at lower age groups.

 

Gray was brilliant tonight vs Atletico in CM, arguably the best player on the pitch.

 

Archie Gray vs Atletico Madrid
pic.twitter.com/sBhjFaq8x5

— 🛸 (@Roncomps) March 18, 2026

 

What's the verdict of Archie Gray's development from the denizens of England Big Soccer, the bull case and the bear case?

 

There's a BBC article about Archie Gray published yesterday. Alludes at the end to his international future.

Probably too late for Tuchel taking him to the World Cup but I expect him to be included for 2028. So hopefully Gray will continue to turn Scotland down if they offer a squad place in North America this year.

Palace tried to sign Acheampong in the summer apparently. And that was before Guehi left. Would still be a good move for him imo.

Was hoping he'd be available for more critical U19 qualifiers. The likes of Ballard, Max Dean, Lankshear would hopefully do a job for U21. Real unfortunate Makama got injured as he was looking really strong for Norwich.

You'd assume MLS would want the game time as well? Seems a lad with a good attitude.