Jude Bellingham gets first England U21 call-up at 17

Borussia Dortmund new boy Jude Bellingham has been called up to the England Under-21 squad for the first time at the age of 17.

Bellingham left boyhood club Birmingham City for Dortmund at the end of the 2019-20 Championship season in a reported initial €23million (£21m) transfer.

The midfielder is yet to play a competitive match for BVB but has now been promoted from the U17 national team set-up.

Bellingham is the youngest player in an England U21 squad – named for matches against Kosovo and Austria – that also features Bukayo Saka and Josh Dasilva, both similarly stepping up to this level for the first time.

Arsenal’s Saka is eligible to play for Nigeria but has been included by Aidy Boothroyd despite missing out on a senior Three Lions group which did not feature a single left-back.

Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi is the only player in Boothroyd’s squad with senior international experience.

Our #YoungLions are back next month!

Here’s the squad Aidy Boothroyd has named for the #U21EURO qualifiers against Kosovo and Austria:

— England (@England) August 26, 2020