Choudhury In England U21s Squad As Barnes Withdraws

- England Under-21s call upon Hamza Choudhury for the Toulon Tournament
- Harvey Barnes was initially among the squad, but has sustained an injury this week
- Choudhury could now make his first appearance for England at youth level 
- England begin their campaign against China on Saturday 26 May

After impressing for the Club's Development Squad, Choudhury made a total of nine appearances for the Foxes in 2017/18, eight of which came in the Premier League.

The 20-year-old is yet to feature at international level, but could make his maiden appearance as soon as this weekend as Aidy Boothroyd's side look to secure their third successive Toulon title.

He replaces Barnes, 20, who netted four goals in 2017, after his City colleague was forced to withdraw with an injury. 

With the tournament only open for players born in 1997 and after, a number of the usual Under-21s squad are unavailable for the trip to France.

Leeds United’s Ronaldo Vieira, meanwhile, also takes the place of Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the 20-man squad.

England first face China at Aubagne’s Stade de Lattre on Saturday 26 May before clashes with Mexico in Salon on Tuesday 29 May and Qatar at the Stade Parsemain in Fos-sur-Mer on Friday 1 June.

“The Toulon Tournament is one that we are all looking forward to and we’ll be playing some really good and tough global opposition," Boothroyd told theFA.com earlier this month.

“As the tournament rules only allow players born in 1997 and younger, it means that we have the chance to look at some of our players from the U20s and see how they develop in this group.

“Everything we do is focused on next summer’s Euros and qualification, so we will use our time in France to look at different systems and use players in different positions.

“It is also a great chance to replicate a major tournament environment and schedule.

“Ultimately we want to win every game and will be looking for that from the squad on and off the pitch.”

The updated 20-man England Under-21s squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers:
Aaron Ramsdale, AFC Bournemouth
Freddie Woodman, Newcastle United

Defenders:
Jake Clarke-Salter, Chelsea
Jay Dasilva, Chelsea
Dael Fry, Middlesbrough
Jonjoe Kenny, Everton
Ezri Konsa, Charlton Athletic
Tom Pearce, Leeds United
Fikayo Tomori, Chelsea
Kyle Walker-Peters, Tottenham Hotspur

Midfielders:
Hamza Choudhury, Leicester City
Tom Davies, Everton
Kieran Dowell, Everton
Ovie Ejaria, Liverpool
Ronaldo Vieira, Leeds United

Forwards:
Tammy Abraham, Chelsea
Adam Armstrong, Newcastle United
Edward Nketiah, Arsenal
Lukas Nmecha, Manchester City