5 England U21 players to keep an eye on in the European Championship

#4 Reiss Nelson

Reiss Nelson has already scored 2 goals for England's U21's in just 5 games

Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson was one of the success stories of 2018/19 when it came to young English players heading abroad to seek playing time, as the 19-year old moved to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim and was an almost immediate hit. Despite starting just 5 league games – making his other 18 appearances from the bench – Nelson was able to score 7 goals in just 630 minutes – essentially averaging a goal every 90 minutes.

A pacy and direct winger, Nelson can also double up as a forward, and as his goals for Hoffenheim showed, he has excellent finishing instincts when he finds himself with a sight of goal. But he’s more than just a quick runner ala Theo Walcott; Nelson is an excellent passer with a success rate of 86.2%, and he’s also got remarkably quick feet, completing 16 successful dribbles last season despite his general lack of game time.

Nelson has only made 5 appearances for Boothroyd’s U21 side thus far; he debuted last October for them in a win over Andorra, scoring with a back-heel, and in his second game he scored with a beautiful free-kick against Scotland. Whether or not he starts in this tournament, it’s likely that he’ll find a way to make an impact – and that could propel him into the plans of both Gareth Southgate and Unai Emery in 2019/20.