Newcastle United star Anthony Gordon has been selected for England's 24-man training camp ahead of the Under-21 European Championships next month. The £40m winger has struggled to hold down a first-team place since joining Eddie Howe's side in January but will be hoping for some much-needed minutes when the Young Lions travel to Georgia and Romania in the coming weeks.
Lee Carsley's England will face Israel, Czechia and holders Germany in their group as they bid to win the tournament for the first time since 1984. Gordon will be joined in the training camp by the likes of Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White, Arsenal's Emile Smith-Rowe and Chelsea's Noni Madueke.
Carsley will name his final tournament squad on June 14 with Gordon expected to play a part should he avoid injury. His call up comes as Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson were selected for Gareth Southgate's latest senior squad.
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Gordon arrived on Tyneside to significant fanfare back in January but his Newcastle career is yet to fully take off. A £40m price tag will have no doubt added pressure, while his tumultuous Everton exit may still be lingering over him as he attempts to force his way into the starting XI at Newcastle.
Howe continues to champion Gordon at every turn and will no doubt be happy to see the January recruit gaining more experience at international level. "Anthony is very much integrated into the squad," Howe told reporters last month.
"He's got the squad feel. When you come into a new group like he has, which is especially difficult in January, you have got to understand the squad, the feeling, the aim. Every club is different so Anthony has had to join that feeling.
"He's very much integrating really well into the squad. When I look at him at lunchtimes and when the players are socialising and eating together, he's always in the hub of it. He's not excluded. He's very much in the core of the group. That's a great thing for me to see."
England under-21 confirmed training squad
Goalkeepers: Josh Griffiths (West Bromwich Albion), Carl Rushworth (Brighton and Hove Albion), James Trafford (Manchester City), Anthony Patterson (Sunderland)
Defenders: Max Aarons (Norwich City), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Levi Colwill (Brighton & Hove Albion, loan from Chelsea), Charlie Cresswell (Leeds United), Lewis Hall (Chelsea), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Manchester City), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Thomas (Leicester City)
Midfielders: Tommy Doyle (Manchester City), Harvey Elliott (Liverpool), James Garner (Everton), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), James McAtee (Manchester City), Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa), Oliver Skipp (Tottenham Hotspur)
Forwards: Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Cameron Archer (Aston Villa), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United)
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