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Tottenham's Ryan Sessegnon praised by England U21 boss Aidy Boothroyd

Action Images via Reuters
Action Images via Reuters

England U21 manager Aidy Boothroyd has praised Tottenham's Ryan Sessegnon and defended the Young Lions performance in a year in wihch they failed to win a single game at the European Championships.

Boothroyd's squad for the Championships, which included the likes of James Maddison, Tammy Abraham and Phil Foden, came in for heavy criticism having failed to make it out of their group.

Ryan Sessegnon was not part of the group for the tournament in Italy and San Marino as he made the move from relegated Fulham to Tottenham over the summer.

Having overcome injury Sessegnon is starting to settle at Spurs, and Boothroyd says he holds an important place in the Three Lions setup.

“The fact he is 19 and pushing hard to get into Under-21s starting team shows how much I think about him and how much we value for him in the system,” said Boothroyd.

Photo: Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images
Photo: Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images

“He had a tough year in the Premier League, playing in different positions under different managers. That makes a difference.”

While Boothroyd, his staff and players were under scrutiny for their performance over the summer, the Young Lions boss has hailed the year as a success.

The 21s have seen 10 players make the step up to senior squads in 2019 while Callum Hudson-Odoi moved straight from the U20s to Gareth Southgate's ranks before dropping back to the U21s as he worked his way back from injury.

“In terms of the whole year, pre and post Euro tournament, it's been a really successful year,” said Boothroyd.

Photo: AFP via Getty Images/Glyn Kirk
Photo: AFP via Getty Images/Glyn Kirk

“I think we've got over 10 players into Gareth's senior squad, which is what we're here to do.

“If we've got an England senior team that's getting beat every week, and an Under-21 team that wins every tournament it goes into, we're in the wrong business and we're doing the wrong things.

“From Under-15s through to the senior team we all know the only team that counts in terms of winners is the seniors.”