Hammersmith-born former Wealdstone and West Ham defender Stuart Pearce has chosen his provisional 40-man shortlist for this summer’s European U21 Championship Finals in Denmark. Over a third of the squad announced yesterday (14 out of 40) currently ply their trade in London, with several more boasting close ties to the Capital.
The Chelsea contingent submitting their candidacy comprises Ryan Bertrand, Michael Mancienne, Jack Cork, Josh McEachran and Daniel Sturridge, while Arsenal’s allocation of aspirants is slightly more refined, featuring just Kieran Gibbs and Henri Lansbury together with first team regular and, thus, controversial inclusion Jack Wilshere.
Spurs’ selected sample provides evidence of the club’s stockpiling of young home-grown talent with the inclusion of right-backs Kyle Naughton and Kyle Walker as well as one-time Watford loanee Danny Rose. West Ham’s James Tomkins and Freddie Sears also merit mentions from Pearce, as does long-time first choice Watford stopper Scott Loach.
There are also places for ex-Millwall and Fulham centre-back Chris Smalling, who has performed admirably at the deep end of both the domestic and overseas calendar for Manchester United as the league leaders suffered an injury crisis earlier this term, and Arsenal academy graduate Fabrice Muamba, whose displays in the colours of both Birmingham City and now Bolton Wanderers have been consistently impressive.
Another Watford old boy, now back at Manchester United, Tom Cleverley, has cemented his place in Psycho’s plans with over 20 appearances and four goals this season for struggling Wigan Athletic, while former Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace winger Scott Sinclair has set the Championship alight this year with a series of all-action displays for former Chelsea coach Brendan Rogers’ promotion-chasing Swansea City.
Reading goalkeeper Alex McCarthy also hopes to make the final cut and join 22 others on the plane to Scandinavia in June; his journey having taken in a loan spell in West London with Brentford at the start of this season, while Celtic’s top scorer Gary Hooper, who has bludgeoned 17 goals from only 22 appearances north of the border in 2010-11 despite missing the Christmas period through injury has bagged goals wherever he has gone, scoring two in two games for Leyton Orient in 2007 before being wisely recalled by then employers Southend United.
London academies and scouting networks have contributed enormously to a highly promising pool of emerging players but time will tell as to whether those such as Wilshere, or indeed others with a wealth of football already under the belts, will look back on the tournament as an important learning curve or an unwelcome nuisance in the life of a Premier League pretender.
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