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

I wonder what the odds of Max Dowman for Young Player of the 2030 World Cup is. Rio Ngumoha will be too old. Ditto the odds of of them for Young Player of fhe Euros in 2028

 

#thfc Middlesbrough are in advanced talks to sign Will Lankshear permanently from Spurs.@AlasdairGold pic.twitter.com/B9kRzdE8WL

— Lilywhite Rose (@Lilywhite_Rose) July 20, 2026

 

Boro really feels like the best possible move for Lankshear in the Championship. They were crying out for even a half decent striker with the volume of chances they created last season.

 

Agreed, this would be one of the most exciting moves of this transfer window.

 

Have to say I´m disappointed we didn´t try harder (or rather: at all) considering he´s been part of our academy before his move to Spurs. On the other hand, as many have said, him playing for an attack-minded team like Boro that only really lacked a reliable goal scorer last season could be really good for his confidence and reputation. Plus there´s a decent chance he could get promoted to the Prem with them. The biggest question will be how they´ll deal with losing Hackney though.

 

Lankshear sounds a done deal. £10m up front, £10m in add ons, 20% sell on clause on any profit, Spurs with a right to match clause.
Also looking like at least one Spurs player could be moving on loan to Boro. Ashley Philips has been mentioned.

 

I think they'll be ok. They were still creating plenty when he was out at the end of the season.
Their bigger concern will be plugging the holes at the back next, with Fry and Targett both gone and Ayling turning 35 next month.

 

Brighton have reportedly turned down a £5m offer for 21-year-old winger Amario Cozier-Duberry, who has been linked with West Ham after impressing on loan with Bolton last season. (The Athletic - via subscription, external)

West Ham are considering a move for Leicester City’s English defender Ben Nelson with the Hammers hoping they can secure the 22-year-old for a cut-price fee following the Foxes relegation to League One. (Football Insider, external)

 

🚨Polish club Pogon Szczecin agree fee for Tottenham defender Alfie Dorrington but move still needs the 21-year-old to give the green light. https://t.co/8ymcwqsI0Q

— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) July 22, 2026

 

I'd like to see Carsley be more proactive with the striker selections this season. Mubama remains the only striker we've capped this cycle. Which of course had the strange situation last time that Mubama was the only striker called up despite having been out since January.

He does love a false 9 starting line up and we almost always look worse for it. He has been hamstrung by the absence of strikers throughout his time as under 21 manager but there has been a tendency to overlook the few we do have. The last under 21's Euro's we looked lost with the false 9 system, and despite the fact Stansfield wasn't very good merely bringing him to the line instantly gave shape and structure to the rest of the team and we looked a much better side thereafter.

Lankshear is the obvious one who should have been called up to the March games, but beyond him we should have at least Ballard (likely to move), Jimmy-Jay Morgan, Mokoma back from injury, Mheuka (I assume will go on loan) playing at least at championship standard and you'd hope at least a couple of options from that list or beyond will be getting game time and worth checking out on call ups. Certainly better than sticking the likes of Tyrique George up top.

 

Agreed. No reason not to have two 9s in every squad given the options.

I also think a big need for this cycle is to find a passer in midfield. Carsley's success with the u21s has hinged on having those players (Gomes/Jones, Anderson/Morton) but this group hasn't really had anyone of that mould yet.

Everyone thus far has been a 6ft+ box to box, carrier type. I think our performances have suffered a little bit as a result of that. Passers are essential for Carsley's playing style.

There's obviously Wharton if he's not going to be in Tuchel's plans but beyond that the options in terms of 04s and 05s are thin. If Jacob Wright can kick on with Norwich he'd be really useful. I think there's a good player in there.

Otherwise we're probably hoping someone younger has a breakthrough season at club level.

 

Liverppol and England Under-20 defender Amara Nallo, 19, is set to join Finnish club HJK Helsinki on a season-long loan. (Athletic - subscription required, external)

Middlesbrough are considering a move for Tottenham Hotspur’s English defender Ashley Phillips, 21, who spent last season on loan at Stoke City. (TeessideLive)

 

Ash hasn't travelled on our tour despite being fully fit so imagine he's pretty progressed in talks with somebody.

 

Player preference is to seek a move in the Championship so move is currently off.❌ https://t.co/xBZOuImM6w

— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) July 24, 2026

 

Olá, prazer, Jesse Derry 😎#sporttvportugal #jogospreparaçao #sporting #asmonaco pic.twitter.com/HQz2GjXi5a

— sport tv (@sporttvportugal) July 25, 2026

 

Reminded me of Schjelderup vs Pickford lol

 

Archie Gray vs Auckland FC

Captains Performance 🫡 pic.twitter.com/7to4iv1Trh

— 🛸 (@Roncomps) July 26, 2026

De Zerbi on Archie Gray:

"“Yes, Archie is young, but he’s an old player, as a mentality, as a performance, as an experience, as a career...

It’s lucky for me when you have these type of players who are able to play in different positions. Okay, it’s important for him to fix one position, one favourite position, but at the end, he has to be open to cover different positions on the pitch. He can play as a right back, as a left back, as a midfielder."

 

Andy Robertson was quoted In the Scottish newspaper that he's trying to convince gray to play for Scotland

 

Charles Sargoe Junior is having a good season in the Swedish first division. Don't know how to view the quality of the league though. Championship perhaps?

 

Honestly I wouldn’t be shocked.

 

That type of stuff will go on with most dual qualified players. If his grandad can't convince him then I'm not sure Andy Robertson will.

 

How’s he going to convince him I wonder. Hey Archie, come play for Scotland and be a legend by helping us get out of a World Cup group for the first time ever….

 

That's why it's pointless to worry about them

 

We have the best fans in the world!!! They'll say you've always wanted to represent your true country and were just toying with England when we'll win and say you're English and don't care at all so we should just replace you with a proper Scotsman from the SPL when we lose. But apart from that, don't you know how much the world loves our fans?