Gareth Southgate: 'Raheem Sterling may be omitted from Under-21s squad'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior ReporterPublished: 16 January 2015 8:59 AM

Gareth Southgate admits that it may be wise to leave Raheem Sterling out of his Under-21s squad for this summer's European Championship to avoid fatigue kicking in.

England Under-21s manager Gareth Southgate has hinted that he will not select Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling for this summer's European Championship finals.

The 20-year-old has been a shining light for the Reds since making the breakthrough at Anfield last season, picking up the 2014 Golden Boy Award last month for his efforts.

However, Sterling came in for criticism last year when he claimed to be "too tired" to play for his country in a qualifying match, while club manager Brendan Rodgers left him out of his squad for last weekend's clash against Sunderland due to fatigue.

Southgate understands these concerns, suggesting that it may be best for the player's long-term future to omit him from the Young Lions party for this summer's tournament in the Czech Republic.

"Realistically, Raheem has become a very important player for the senior team and for Liverpool," he told the Daily Mail. "There is a huge demand on him. Part of my role is looking at the development of individuals and I'm not convinced another tournament in the summer would be right for him."

"Of course he is a super player and, from a selfish point of view, it would be easy to try and grab all of those. But we have to look at the bigger picture."

England have been placed in Group B for Euro 2015, which takes place in June, along with Italy, Portugal and Sweden.