Jordan Henderson has called on England's youngsters to embrace playing for the national side at next summer's Under-21s European Championship.
A club versus country row is already developing over the availability of Tottenham Hotspur hitman Harry Kane ahead of the major tournament, while Tom Ince withdrew from the latest squad in order to focus his attention on Derby County's Championship promotion push.
Henderson skippered the Young Lions before becoming a regular name at senior level and, despite some bad memories from Euro 2013 where his side lost three games, the Liverpool midfielder insists that the learning experience will prove to be invaluable.
"I would tell any of those young lads to go out there and play in tournament football for their country at any level." he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. "I thought I gained a lot of experience doing that. It wasn't all good as I had two Under-21 tournaments and we didn't do that well in either.
"We could have done a lot better with the team we had – but I learnt a lot from playing in those games. There was never any doubt for me. All I wanted to do was go and play. Obviously people get injuries, which you can't help, but if you're fit, I wanted to go.
"You've got to manage it with the club managers, who think about the best interest of the player. And you've got to understand that. But for me personally I want to play every game for club and country and if I'm fit I'll want to play at a tournament whatever the level."
England Under-21s are back in action on Monday night when they take on Germany Under-21s at the Riverside Stadium.
Daniel Lewis
