Chris Sutton has slammed the omission of Patrick Roberts from the England Under-21s as “embarrassing”.
The Celtic winger was ignored by Under-21s manager Aidy Boothroyd, who called up virtual unknown Jack Harrison from New York City FC instead.
Roberts has become a key player in Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic squad and many were surprised when the 20-year-old was left out of the England youth squad that takes on Scotland at the Riverside Stadium on Friday night after a strong start to the season.
Sutton had already expressed his anger at the England senior squad snubbing Scott Sinclair and took to his personal Twitter account to also lay into the Under-21 for their “embarrassing” omission of Roberts.
And here is another one… Patrick Roberts can’t get a game for England Under 21s tomorrow night..Embarrassing https://t.co/xRDB34sYGy
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) October 6, 2017
New York City midfielder Harrison has made a big impact in Major League Soccer since being traded from Chicago Fire last year and played a huge part in helping his side qualify for the 2017 MLS Cup play-offs.
OPINION
Sutton has hit the nail on the head with this one. Roberts is a rising star of English football who has already made an impact in the Champions League, not to mention being an integral member of the Celtic side that won the treble last season. It beggars belief that he is not considered good enough to make the Under-21s squad. Boothroyd insisted that Harrison has been playing more regularly than Roberts and he wants to take a closer look at him. Celtic fans will be baffled by Boothroyd’s explanation, given that Roberts has made six appearances for the club since agreeing a loan move at the end of August, two of which have been starts in the Champions League.