INTERNATIONALSPECIAL Why Wayne caps

Aidy has battle to keep his kid stars

DEMARAI GRAY is the next England youngster in line for a senior call-up.

The Leicester winger, 22, has caught Gareth Southgate’s eye with his displays this term.

Under-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd also says he could soon lose Everton winger Ademola Lookman, 21, too.

Boothroyd is preparing a squad for the European U21 Championships in Italy next summer but faces a battle to take his top eligible stars.

Gray has been a mainstay but, like club-mate Ben Chilwell, is vying for a regular berth with Southgate.

Boothroyd said: “It is a great problem to have. Normally there’s a group who pick themselves but in this squad, looking ahead that far, all sorts could happen. We have players who have gone up and come back down, and who stayed in some cases, like Ben Chilwell.

“Demarai Gray is a stalwart of the U21s, one of the first on the teamsheet. He is now in contention with the likes of Ademola, Reiss Nelson and others.”

Southgate had the same problem when he was U21 boss, “passing on” players to the seniors even though they could have gone to tournaments with him.

Boothroyd, who has 33 players on his “long list” ahead of kick-off on June 15, will visit clubs in the new year to discuss his summer plans and reassure over burn-out fears.

He said: “I have never had difficulties before. You have honest conversations. Fortunately, I have a relationship with lots of the managers .

“The key thing is turning up and having a plan. You can’t just say, ‘We are taking your players’.

“They are the clubs and we respect that.” AFTER first apologising to Alan Shearer, Gareth Southgate revealed that Wayne Rooney is the best striker he ever played with.

The trio of Paul Gascoigne, Paul Scholes and Rooney, Southgate went on to explain, were the three players in any position that he would put on a level above everybody else he has shared a dressing room with in an international playing career that stretched from 1995 to 2004.

“For me Gascoigne, Scholes and Rooney were just able to do that little bit more than all of the other incredible players across that period,” said Southgate.

“I played with Wayne at the beginning for him really, so for him to go on and overtake Sir Bobby Charlton’s record and Gary Lineker’s record is incredible.

“We’ve talked about the different types of finishes and the different types of goals. That would be one of the things that stands out. His game intelligence was top.”

It goes a long way towards explaining why we are making so much of a fuss of Rooney tonight. Southgate had wanted to show the younger players in his squad a showreel of his achievements for England, only to be scuppered GUZAN YEDLIN MIAZGA BROOKS VILLAFANA ADAMS TRAPP PULISIC McKENNIE WEAH WOOD REPORTS by, of all things, TV rights issues. Instead, at St George’s Park, he simply presented some of the facts.

“We just put together, at the opening meeting with the players, some of his highlights,” he said. “Key things such as the age he was when he made his debut, the age he was for his first England goal, six major tournaments, the moment of his 50th goal, that he’s our record goalscorer.” Rooney will hand Callum Wilson, Lewis Dunk and Alex McCarthy their England shirts, with all three set to make their debuts at some point during the game.

That rite of passage is typical of the progression Southgate is trying to promote; he wants the experiences of the past to become learning points for the players of the future. He is excited by the fact that his own crop of young players will, in the future, be able to tell how they once played alongside the nation’s record goalscorer.

“It is hugely that knowledge and important experience Southgate.

“You want people who understand the game and understand the level needed, who want to keep learning and improving and are unselfish enough that they want to help others develop.

“I have asked Wayne to talk to the guys about a couple of areas in particular, although a lot of that has taken place – he has fitted in perfectly during training.

“It has been a really good experience for the players who haven’t worked with him before.

“Those informal chats at dinner, quality in training, attitude and mentality. It has been a real positive for us. Now the more formal part of that will come ahead of the game.” Southgate, of course, knew Rooney at

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ALEXANDER-ARNOLD

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