Jake Clarke-Salter has been today named captain of the U21s England national team for the European Championship which started in Italy yesterday.
The Three Lions will start their campaign on Tuesday when they face France. After that, they will play against Romania on Friday and Croatia on Monday.
Clarke-Salter was part of a triumphant U20s side two years ago when England won the World Cup. Another Blue, Fikayo Tomoti, also was in that team and will likely partner Clarke-Salter in Italy, too.
Jay Dasilva, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have been called up for the Euros as well.
"It's a massive honour for me to captain England at such a big tournament like this," said the newly-appointed captain. "When I look at the players who have played in the Under-21 Euros, along with the quality of the squad we have now, it's such a proud feeling to be named captain.
Clarke-Salter lifts the FA Youth Cup trophy as Chelsea captain in 2016
"It's a big responsibility to lead the team and make sure we keep our standards as high as we expect them to be on and off the pitch. We know we have a big job to do over the next couple of weeks if we want to achieve the success we hope and believe we can at the Euros.
"We've got a lot of natural leaders in the team and a lot of talent and we're going to do everything we can to try and win this tournament."
Jake Clarke-Salter has made only one competitive appearance for the Blues. In 2016, he featured in a 4-0 victory over Aston Villa. Since then, he's been on loan at Bristol Rovers, Sunderland and in the last season, Vitesse.
