Gareth Southgate admits Raheem Sterling is unlikely to feature for England at European Under-21 Championship

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Liverpool have been handed a boost, with Raheem Sterling likely to be allowed a summer of rest…

It appears as if Raheem Sterling will not be heading to the Czech Republic for the European Under 21 Championships with England side this summer, with coach Gareth Southgate admitting that a call-up is extremely unlikely.

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The news will come as a huge boost to the Reds, who already have ‘burnout’ fears over the 20-year-old forward. Sterling was subsequently allowed an extended winter break earlier this month, causing him to miss a league game against Sunderland.

His age means that Sterling is eligible to make the trip at the end of the season, but he will only be allowed to travel with the rest of the squad if all parties agree on a decision.

The major issue for Southgate, is whether he should be allowed to take fully-fledged members of Roy Hodgson’s Three Lions squad on a youth team trip.

Ross Barkley, Phil Jones, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Luke Shaw are all available, as are first-team hopefuls Harry Kane, Danny Ings and Saido Berahino, who are all chasing their first full cap.

The former Middlesbrough boss admitted his disappointment over Sterling, but told reporters, before being quoted by the Daily Mirror: “Realistically, Raheem has become a very important player for the senior team and for Liverpool.

“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.”

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