Burnley and Manchester City man named in England U21 squad with Euros on the horizon

Lee Carsley plans to cast his eyes over a preliminary 24-man squad ahead of this summer’s UEFA Under-21 European Championships.

Harwood-Bellis, who has spent the season on loan at Turf Moor from Manchester City, will report to St. George’s Park for national duty from Wednesday, June 7 until Saturday, June 10.

The final tournament squad is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday, June 14.

This summer’s competition is being held in Georgia and Romania between Wednesday, June 21 and Saturday, July 8, with England’s Young Lions in Group C alongside holders Germany, Czech Republic and Israel.

Harwood-Bellis made his debut for the U21s in September 2021 and has earned 13 caps in total.

The 21-year-old captained the Young Lions for the first time during a 4-1 win over Armenia in March of last year.

The defender made 35 appearances in all competitions for Vincent Kompany’s side this season, playing a leading role in the Clarets’ return to the Premier League.

He’s joined in the squad by the likes of Max Aarons (Norwich City), Levi Colwill (Brighton, on loan from Chelsea), Djed Spence (Rennes, on loan from Tottenham), Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones (both Liverpool), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest) and Emile Smith-Rowe (Arsenal).

The senior team, meanwhile, take on Malta and North Macedonia in their next round of qualifiers next month.

Former Claret Kieran Trippier has been included in Gareth Southgate’s squad, but Nick Pope misses out through injury.