Burnley’s Jay Rodriguez in frame for Euro’s

Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez has capped a magnificent season by earning a place in the provisional England squad for the European under-21 Championship finals in June.

The Clarets’ striker has been named by England coach Stuart Pearce in an initial 40-man party, along with Burnley loanee Jack Cork, for the tournament in Denmark.

Rodriguez’s inclusion follows an initial call-up in February when he won his first international cap as a substitute in a friendly defeat in Italy.

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And it is a fitting reward for an outstanding campaign which has seen the 21-year-old score 14 times as a key member of the Clarets’ line-up.

“It’s fantastic to be included,” said Rodriguez. “Being involved with England is what you always think of growing up.

“I am not building my hopes up about going to the finals. It’s just nice to be thought of at this stage, but if I did go it would be a great tournament to be involved in and it’s great that Jack and Nathan could be there as well.”

England will trim the squad to a final 23 in the week beginning May 16 to submit to UEFA on June 1.

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England then kick-off their Euro campaign against Spain on Sunday, June 12 and then face further Group B clashes against Ukraine on Wednesday, June 15 and the Czech Republic on Sunday, June 19.

Group A consists of Belarus, Iceland, Switzerland and the host country.

Before going to Denmark, Pearce’s side will attend a training camp in Spain ahead of a final warm-up game against Norway at Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday, 5 June.

Provisional England under-21 squad:

GOALKEEPERS

Frankie Fielding (Blackburn Rovers), Scott Loach (Watford), Jason Steele (Middlesbrough), Alex McCarthy (Reading),

DEFENDERS

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Joe Bennett (Middlesbrough), Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jones (Blackburn Rovers), Michael Mancienne (Wolverhampton Wanderers - loan from Chelsea), Ben Mee (Leicester City - loan from Manchester City), Kyle Naughton (Leicester City - loan from Tottenham), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), James Tomkins (West Ham United), Kieran Trippier (Barnsley - loan from Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Aston Villa - loan from Tottenham Hotspur),

MIDFIELDERS

Marc Albrighton (Aston Villa), Jack Cork (Burnley - loan from Chelsea), Tom Cleverley (Wigan Athletic - loan from Man Utd), Mark Davies (Bolton Wanderers), Adam Hammill (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Jordan Henderson (Sunderland), Jonathan Howson (Leeds United), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Henri Lansbury (Norwich City - loan from Arsenal), Josh McEachran (Chelsea), Fabrice Muamba (Bolton Wanderers), Jack Rodwell (Everton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Scott Sinclair (Swansea City), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

FORWARDS

Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Nathan Delfouneso (Burnley - loan from Aston Villa), Gary Hooper (Celtic), Jay Rodriguez (Burnley), Freddie Sears (West Ham United), Daniel Sturridge (Bolton Wanderers - loan from Chelsea), James Vaughan (Crystal Palace - loan from Everton), Danny Welbeck (Sunderland - loan from Man Utd), Connor Wickham (Ipswich Town).