Marcus Rashford drops down to England Under-21s after snub from Sam Allardyce

MARCUS RASHFORD has missed out on Sam Allardyce’s first England squad and has been moved down to the Under-21s.

The Manchester United striker, who scored on his Three Lions debut against Australia in May before appearing twice at Euro 2016, is in line for his first cap at this level against Norway on 6 September.

As SunSport revealed earlier this week, the 18-year-old was set to pay the price and miss out on Big Sam’s squad due to his lack of playing time with the Red Devils this season.

United manager Jose Mourinho has blocked a potential loan move away from Old Trafford for the youngster, insisting that he will get game time at the club.

Despite missing out on the seniors, U21s boss Gareth Southgate believes this is still an important step in the hotshot’s pathway to the top.

U21s boss Gareth Southgate said: “Last season, his pathway was remarkable and we’re very conscious of plotting how we develop our young players.

“We spoke a lot with Manchester United last season when we put him in the U20s in March, which both they and ourselves felt was the right thing at the time.

“He then continued his progress, which was great, and of course he played a part in Roy’s squad at the Euros.

“But if he’s less likely to start with the seniors at this moment in time, and Sam [Allardyce] is quite keen that people are playing regularly, we think that it’s now a good opportunity in his international development for him to be with the U21s.”

Southgate, speaking to the FA website, added: “Marcus is a young player and still developing so this is a big part of his international education really.

“We’ve got a good week’s work ahead with a very strong squad and we’re playing Norway, who are doing similar with their players as they’ve just named Martin Odegaard in their squad.

“We’ve had it in the past with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, John Stones and Calum Chambers joining us after being with the seniors, so it’s something we’re familiar with.

“Marcus has a good mentality, so I know he’ll respond in the right way and we’re looking forward to working with him.”

Southgate’s side welcome the Norwegians to Colchester’s Community Stadium next month as they aim to continue their impressive start to their Euro qualification campaign.

They currently sit on top of Group 9 with three games to go with only the first-placed side qualify for next summer’s tournament in Poland.

Southgate has named a 24-man party for the clash. The squad in full is:
Goalkeepers: Angus Gunn (Manchester City), Jordan Pickford (Sunderland), Joe Wildsmith (Sheffield Wednesday)

Defenders: Calum Chambers (Arsenal), Ben Chilwell (Leicester City), Brendan Galloway (West Bromwich Albion, loan from Everton), Kortney Hause (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Rob Holding (Arsenal), Mason Holgate (Everton), Dominic Iorfa (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Matt Targett (Southampton)

Midfielders: Lewis Baker (Vitesse Arnhem, loan from Chelsea), Nathaniel Chalobah (Chelsea), Isaac Hayden (Newcastle United), Will Hughes (Derby County), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), John Swift (Reading), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)

Forwards: Demarai Gray (Leicester City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Nathan Redmond (Southampton), Dominic Solanke (Chelsea), Duncan Watmore (Sunderland)