UNDER-21S MUST SEEK EDUCATION

LAST year, I had the pleasure of interviewing the genius Gheorghe Hagi – the Maradona of the Carpathians – who is now 54 and the owner and coach of Viitorul Constanta, a club he founded a decade ago.

In 2017 Viitorul won the Romanian top-flight title – with a team that had an average age of just 22.

One of Hagi’s stars is his son, Ianis Hagi, 20, an attacking midfielder who’s just helped Romania beat England 4-2 at the European Under-21 Championship.

Born into the game’s royalty, Hagi Jnr has still grafted and gone the extra mile to get himself a real football education – in a manner that puts many of Aidy Boothroyd’s ‘unstreetwise’ England squad to shame.

After making his senior debut for Viitorul at 16, Ianis was snapped up by Fiorentina in a £2million deal.

He made his Serie A debut and was nominated for the Golden Boy award, a prestigious poll to name the best young player in Europe.

But he wasn’t satisfied. He wasn’t content to sit on the bench or play with the youth team. Even with the consolation of acclaim, and a life in one of the world’s most beautiful cities. So back he went to play for his dad. As a youngster I found myself behind Ian Wright and Mark Wright at Crystal Palace. Then I discovered the club had just signed Chris Armstrong too.

So I went to Southend, believing that one step backwards would help me to eventually make a giant leap forwards.

My challenge to our Young Lions is: back yourself. If you don’t get regular first XI club football, bang on the gaffer’s door. Demand to go somewhere else.