AIDY: WE’RE ALL UP FOR EURO GLORY

AIDY BOOTHROYD says his “soldiers and artists” can lead England to European Championship glory this summer.

The England Under-21 boss reckons he has the right mix of steel and skill to make an impact at the tournament in Poland, which kicks off a week on Friday.

Chelsea starlets Izzy Brown and Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Manchester City’s Patrick Roberts pulled out of the final 23-man squad with injuries yesterday.

Finals

Manchester United star Marcus Rashford will also miss out after England boss Gareth Southgate decided to keep him with the seniors.

Boothroyd (below) said: “We have some good players and, like for any international team, bringing them all together and getting them all to work as a single unit is the challenging part.

“But we’ve got players with big-game experience now, lads who have played in cup finals, play-off finals, big games and a ® couple of senior internationals.

“We have a very capable, mature squad with a nice balance between the soldiers and the artists, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and the Southampton contingent of Nathan Redmond, James Ward-Prowse, Jack Stephens and Matt Targett provide plenty of Premier League experience.

Rob Holding, an FA Cup winner with Arsenal, and Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham, who scored 23 goals in the Championship on loan at Bristol City, are also expected to play key roles.

Chelsea midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah is the most experienced member of the squad with 36 caps.

Loftus-Cheek, Brown and Roberts, who won the Treble on loan at Celtic, were ruled out after being assessed by England’s medical staff.

Southampton midfielder Sam McQueen and Sheffield Wednesday keeper Joe Wildsmith are on stand-by.

The squad meet at St George’s Park tomorrow, with England’s campaign starting against reigning champs Sweden in Kielce on June 16. They face Slovakia three days later, then round off the group stage against hosts Poland on

June 22.