Roberto Martínez has said Ross Barkley has nothing to gain by returning to England Under-21s and it would not aid his development to feature in next summer’s European Championship finals. The national manager, Roy Hodgson, this week raised the possibility of established Premier League players such as Barkley, Jack Wilshere and Luke Shaw featuring for Gareth Southgate’s team in the Czech Republic by conceding that the Under-21s coach would have first pick on England’s eligible players. Barkley, who turns 21 in December, falls into that category and many view tournament experience as invaluable ahead of England’s likely participation in Euro 2016 in France. Barkley appeared only as an 87th-minute substitute against Scotland during the recent international break but his club manager believes it would be to the midfielder’s detriment to leave the senior England squad. “We need to remember what the reason is for playing for the Under-21s – it is to get you ready to play for the first team,” theEverton manager said. “The moment that you feel ready to play in the first team, I don’t see how it can help going back in your development. There are specific moments, and specific players, that can get that advantage but Ross has gone past that completely. “When I see a young player who has already had his time with the Under-21s I don’t see the point in going back unless there is a specific reason. I don’t think it’s positive for the other players. If you have a group who have qualified, and it’s not easy to qualify, you must have a group that has something going on. You want to use them. “Maybe you have an important player and he gets injured, well then you use Ross Barkley or Jack Wilshere. But there has to be a specific reason. Who is going to guarantee you that by bringing in new faces you are going to win the tournament? Nobody.” #shaun
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 10:35:14 +0000
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