England are hoping to hang on to Jobe Bellingham this month after naming him in their 23-man squad for the Under-21 European Championships.
As exclusively revealed by Mail Sport on Thursday, Lee Carsley is without Liam Delap as he joins up with Chelsea for the Club World Cup.
And there were fears that Carsley would be missing Bellingham too as Borussia Dortmund, who are also in action at the Club World Cup, look to wrap up a move for the Sunderland midfielder.
Sources at the German club are confident they have won the race for the £25million-rated teenager after he held talks with sporting director Sebastian Kehl in Ibiza last week.
Mail Sport understands that there is still a chance Dortmund make their move in time to pull Bellingham out of the England squad for the Club World Cup, but for now he is set for a prominent role at the Euros.
The 19-year-old only made his debut for England’s Under-21s back in November but already looks to be a key piece of the puzzle for Carsley as England begin their title defence in Slovakia next week.
No Delap has left a hole in attack with only one recognised centre forward, Birmingham City’s Jay Stansfield, in the squad.
Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich Town) and Jonathan Rowe (Marseille) offer potential false nine options if Carsley decides to shake things up.
Jamie Gittens, who is being pursued by Chelsea this month, is one of a number of high-profile absentees that has decimated Carsley’s options.
Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite is not involved while Manchester City’s Rico Lewis is also out. City midfielder James McAtee, who was part of the victorious Euros group in 2023, is in the squad.
Adam Wharton, Jaden Philogene and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who were all part of the last Under-21s camp, are all also absent.
England’s title defence gets underway next Wednesday when they take on Czech Republic.
All of the Young Lions’ games will be broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK.
