England youth manager Ian Foster has admitted naming his squad for the upcoming under-20s FIFA World Cup has been a "complex process" with a number of Premier League clubs refusing to release their young stars for the final weeks of the season.
The finals will take place in Argentina over a three-week period beginning on May 20 and the showpiece final set to be contested on June 11. And because the tournament takes place outside of the FIFA window, participating players must have their departures sanctioned by their clubs if they are to be named in the squads of their respective nations.
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Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah was named in Foster's 21-man squad last week. However, Luke Chambers, who is currently on loan at Scottish Premiership outfit Kilmarnock, asked not to be considered for selection as he looks to help the Killie in their battle for top-flight survival.
This week, however, Carney Chukwuemeka became the latest high-profile player to be refused participation in the competition with interim Chelsea manager Frank Lampard instead deciding to keep hold of the 19-year-old despite the Stamford Bridge outfit being unable to finish higher than 10th in the Premier League this season.
Elsewhere, and perhaps more understandably, Erik Ten Hag opted to keep Alejandro Garnacho at Old Trafford and reject a call-up from host nation Argentina with Manchester United pushing for a top-four finish and scheduled to take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final on June 3.
Speaking to Sky Sports about the complications he's faced in selecting his squad, Foster admitted his selection has been compromised despite extensive talks with first-team managers.
"It's probably been the hardest squad I've had to name in all the time I've been here," Foster told Sky Sports News. "It's a complex process seeing as the World Cup is outside the FIFA window, which doesn't make life easy for selection. Conversations with clubs and with players (have been going on) for weeks now.
"The managers I've spoken to understand that this is a once-in-a-lifetime tournament for these boys. The fact that it's now in Argentina not Indonesia only adds to it, seeing as they are senior world champions. It's just a fabulous football environment for our players to go and play in."
As it stands, Foster has named Aaron Ramsey (Middlesbrough), Brooke Norton-Cuffy (Coventry) and Callum Doyle (Coventry) in his squad for the competition despite the trio currently being involved in the Championship play-offs. For the Three Lions, it means at least one of the three will be involved in the early stages of the finals with the two Premier League-chasing sides facing off at the Riverside in the second leg of their play-off semi-final on Wednesday evening.
On the flip side, though, one out of the three will be made to wait until the end of May to make the jaunt to South America with the play-off final not taking place until May 27. By that time England will have played two of their three group games, with their Group B finale against Iraq pencilled in for less than 24 hours after the full-time whistle at Wembley.
"We've had to compromise, and some tough decisions have had to be made," added Foster. "The boys in the play offs - first and foremost, we are delighted the boys are there. They've earned the right after a long season, 46 games, they're young lads.
"We've taken the decision to name them. One thing that has helped us is that Coventry and Middlesbrough play each other, so they can't all three make the final.
"We will either get Aaron (Ramsey, Middlesbrough on loan from Aston Villa) or we will get Brooke (Norton-Cuffy at Coventry, on loan from Arsenal) and Callum (Doyle at Coventry, on loan from Manchester City) after the semi-finals."
Quansah, who spent the second half of the season away from Liverpool on loan at League One side Bristol Rovers, was available for selection due to the Joey Barton's side finishing 17th in the table and therefore not involved in the play-offs. Meanwhile, Chambers has not been selected after deciding to stay at Rugby Park for the final three games of the Scottish Premiership season.
Academy goalkeeper Harvey Davies has not been selected for the finals despite making his debut for Foster's side last summer and receiving a call-up for their latest round of international fixtures in March.
England U20s begin their campaign against Tunisia on Monday, May 22.
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