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England are bearing new fruits reveals Leicester’s young lion

By James Lassey

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Ben Chilwell of Leicester City and Beni Baningime of Everton battle for the ball during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Everton at The King Power Stadium on October 29, 2017 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Ben Chilwell of Leicester City and Beni Baningime of Everton battle for the ball during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Everton at The King Power Stadium on October 29, 2017 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
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English youth football is reaching new heights and the Foxes are nurturing some of England’s best upcoming talents.

With the arrival of  St Georges Park in 2001 – a state-of-the-art training complex close to Burton-on-Trent –  the Football Association are finally looking to reap  World Cup winners from all the coaches hard work.

At the time of the reconstruction, England were nowhere near the likes of the 1998 World Cup winners and European Champions in 2000, France.

For England, the year 2000 saw them  fall at the first hurdle in their brief European Championship campaign. The Lions exited the group stage thanks to a 3-2 defeat to Romania and in a bid to address the situation, the FA decided to attempt to rectify the disappointment.

In came  St Georges Park, a carbon-copy blueprint of France’s Clairefontaine. A large number of the French players who enjoyed the success of 1998 and 2000 came through the ranks there.

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The renovation came with the idea that all the players from the youth teams to the senior side would be taught the same skills, formations and systems.

Roll forward 16 years and England may finally benefit from the million-pound investment and the young Leicester starlets are here to play their part.

While  City’s Darnell Johnson helped the England under-19s become European champions, Foxes duo Ben Chilwell and Demarai Gray reached the semi-finals with the under-21s.

It has been 51 years since the England senior side last won the World Cup and the only question left to ask is can the young lions finally bring that new sense of belief the first team so badly yearns.?

One of Leicester’s most exciting prospects Chilwell feels England’s time may be about to come. He has been involved with the England setup since an early age.

The defender has featured for the under-17s, under-19s, under-20s and the under-21s and he believes that the England team are approaching an exciting time.

"Speaking to the Leicester Mercury, Chilwell said: “The success has been massive, it just shows that what has been happening at the grassroots level of English football is bearing fruit.“When we were under-14s, under-15s and under-16s and we spent time at St George’s Park and they were trying to put the style of play in us.“We are all used to it now, playing out from the back, being comfortable on the ball, taking the ball under pressure wherever you are on the pitch. That is all starting to have a big influence now."

England have enjoyed further success – both the under-17s and 19s lifted the World Cup and Leicester pair Elliott Moore and Harvey Barnes retained the Toulon Tournament with the under-20s.

All triumphs which Chilwell plays down to having the right spirit and by coaches instilling the right mindset early on.

TYCHY, POLAND – JUNE 27: Ben Chilwell of England and Dominik Kohr of Germany during the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Semi Final match between England and Germany at Tychy Stadium on June 27, 2017 in Tychy, Poland. (Photo by Lukasz Szelag/Getty Images)
TYCHY, POLAND – JUNE 27: Ben Chilwell of England and Dominik Kohr of Germany during the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Semi Final match between England and Germany at Tychy Stadium on June 27, 2017 in Tychy, Poland. (Photo by Lukasz Szelag/Getty Images) /

"Chilwell added: “Obviously, the major thing is we are doing well in the big tournaments so as these players start to progress and we start to progress into the senior team there is a winning mentality about the younger age groups.“There is a lot of confidence and talent. It is exciting.”"

For Chilwell, he had to wait for his first team chance at Leicester, the 20-year-old had already made his England under-21 debut before he turned out for City.

He holds a lot of sympathy for youth team players who have  limited first team chances due to the Premier League being so result driven. Despite his seven Leicester appearances, the under-21 captain still feels he has more to do.

"Chilwell said: “I wouldn’t say I have broken through yet but I am getting a lot more chances than I was, it has taken me nearly two-and-a-half years to start to get a few more chances.“The difficult thing is trying to bide your time and train hard, not let it get you down, and show a good attitude.“If you train hard every day, when you get your chance you have to take it.“The Premier League is competitive and there are a lot of good players coming from abroad so it is difficult but it is part of football now and you just have to get on with it.”"

The Foxes now have five youngsters engrossed into the rough and tumble of the national team’s youth sides and the future is looking bright for England and Leicester fans alike.

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