Wherever you look in the Premier League now, noting the admired goalkeepers, talented defenders, sparky playmakers and leading scorers, there are members of the underachieving England under-21s who returned chastened from their summer Euros in Italy. They have grown up fast and their prominence is an important, if rarely mentioned, theme to the season heading into 2020, which contains the senior Euros. Gareth Southgate, his assistant Steve Holland and the FA’s technical director, Les Reed, travelled to the Adriatic last June to watch Aidy Boothroyd’s players in training, during games and around the hotel, and ended up questioning the attitude of some on and off the field. At the risk of going over painful ground, England’s abject group performances were scarred by a surreal Aaron…

Source: The Times December 30, 2019 17:03 UTC