Former England Under-21 manager Stuart Pearce has questioned whether Roy Hodgson was right to promote Ross Barkley to the full international squad rather than allowing the player to gain more experience at youth level.
Pearce said that once a player is in the full team they can no longer gain match time in the U21s, and he is unsure whether Barkley being a squad player rather than a first-teamer at a lower level is any better for his development.
"If you are going to upgrade someone to a higher age group, be aware that their mentality will mean they won't want to come back down and play in the Under-21 championship," Pearce told The Guardian.
"That's a fact. It means you go to an Under-21 tournament with so many players missing like last time and you can't win anything. It means you consistently don't win anything in the underage groups and that means you can't win anything at senior level.
"Does that mean he's had great experience sitting in the stands or does it mean he's missed six or seven Under-21 qualifiers and the experience of international football? I know where I would have left him."
Pearce is now in charge of Championship side Nottingham Forest and will take over from July 1.
Matt Domm
