Lee Carsley names two Irish-qualified stars in England U21s squad

Not ideal for Heimir Hallgrimsson and Ireland

Both Burnley's CJ Egan-Riley and Sunderland's Dennis Cirkin have been named in Lee Carsley's England U21s squad for their friendlies against France and Portugal later this month.

Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson and assistant John O'Shea went to watch Burnley play Sunderland at Turf Moor in January.

This led to speculation that they were planning on convincing the two Irish-qualified defenders to declare for the Boys in Green, with both men having played underage for England.

Egan-Riley, however, did represent Ireland at U16 level back in 2018. While Cirkin was born in Dublin to Latvian parents before moving to London when he was three-years old.

Both men are regulars for their sides, with Burnley sitting third in the Championship and Sunderland fourth.

Carsley's squad is littered with talent and a handful of names who would have been contenders for Thomas Tuchel's senior squad, such as Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite, Dortmund's Jamie Gittens, Palace's Adam Wharton, Ipswich's Liam Delap, and Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri.

England U21s squad.

Goalkeepers: James Beadle (Sheffield Wednesday, on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion), Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Doncaster Rovers, on loan from Chelsea), Tommy Simkin (Walsall, on loan from Stoke City)

Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Dennis Cirkin (Sunderland), Charlie Cresswell (FC Toulouse), CJ Egan-Riley (Burnley), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Southampton), Rico Lewis (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland), Jamie Gittens (Borussia Dortmund), Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur), Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough), Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton and Hove Albion), Alex Scott (AFC Bournemouth), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)

Forwards: Liam Delap (Ipswich Town), Harvey Elliott (Liverpool), Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich Town), Sam Iling-Junior (Middlesbrough, on loan from Aston Villa), James McAtee (Manchester City), Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal), Jaden Philogene (Ipswich Town), Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City)