How Jadon Sancho paved way for England’s youngsters to travel Europe and youth teams are now reaping benefits

JADON SANCHO broke the mould by heading to Borussia Dortmund four years ago.

Yet now it is not only Germany that our best young players are flocking to, but all over Europe.

England boss Gareth Southgate spoke last week of how playing in Italy is the best education AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori can get as a defender.

Tomori’s old Chelsea team-mate Tammy Abraham has joined him in Serie A with Roma and has been rewarded with a Three Lions recall, while Kieran Trippier is a reigning LaLiga champion at Atletico Madrid.

But below the senior squad, there are a number of youngsters plying their trade on the continent, either on loan or permanently.

Lee Carsley’s Under-21 side currently has six players playing abroad.

In France, Etienne Green is starting in goal for Saint Etienne and Angel Gomes has justified leaving Manchester United by being a regular for title-holders Lille this term.

Noni Madueke has his sights set on becoming the Eredivisie’s best player this season, though has had to pull out of the latest Young Lions camp through injury.

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Stuttgart defender Clinton Mola has been promoted from the Under-20 squad to replace the crocked Levi Samuels Colwill.

Finally, Manchester City have loaned out midfielder Tommy Doyle to Hamburg and centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis to Anderlecht respectively.

Yet there are more examples of youngsters braving life outside of England further down the ranks.

Chelsea’s Faustino Anjorin, currently with the Under-20s, is spending the season on loan in Russia with Lokomotiv Moscow.

While goalkeeping brothers Charlie and Tommy Setford, in the Under-18s and Under-17s squads respectively, are in Ajax’s academy, though both were born in Holland.

The sheer variety of cultures and styles of football experienced will surely only benefit the national team in the long-term.

Gomes, who spent last season on loan in Portugal with Boavista, already sees positives in the Under-21 squad from the blend of England - and continental-based players.

The godson of ex-United star Nani explained: “The stuff players like Emile (Smith Rowe), Curtis (Jones) and Conor (Gallagher) can bring to the camp from the Premier League will be different from what I can bring from my experiences in Ligue 1.

"[The same with] the experiences Noni can bring from Holland and what Jude (Bellingham) can bring from Dortmund.

“You grow in different ways. There are probably areas that they have grown in that I’ve grown in differently, being in a different league.

“When you mix all that together, it brings a different balance.”

Harwood-Bellis is bringing his experiences from working under City legend Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht.

The centre-back, 19, feels his few months there have already turned him “more into a man than I was”.

While all the players playing abroad from the Under-21s are regularly in contact to swap stories of their lives abroad.

Harwood-Bellis, who is joined by his partner out in Belgium, told talkSPORT: “We speak about how it’s going at the clubs all the time.

"Obviously we check on social media to see how everyone’s doing anyway, or I do anyway.

“You want to know what it’s like for them because you can relate to them. If you’re struggling, how they came through it, or if you are doing well, how they coped with it.

“Being a legend of Man City and one of my idols growing up, the opportunity to work with (Kompany) was massive.

“So far it’s making me a much better player and hopefully it carries on.

“It’s a different culture, a different way of living, being away from home. There’s kind of a language barrier, not so much at Anderlecht because it’s mostly English.

“But with the players you can’t speak normally because they might not understand you!”

Gomes, 21, is particularly close with English-speakers Jonathan David, Timothy Weah and Jose Fonte in the Lille squad.

But he feels he is picking up the language and settling in well across the channel, where his brother is staying with him for support.

While Gomes feels his Angolan and Portuguese heritage made the decision to go abroad easier for him.

He added: “If you want to progress and play, there are options everywhere in the world. 

“You have to be mentally strong and tough in order to cope with it. It’s not just family things, it’s learning a new language, a new culture. I’ve always been open-minded. 

“It was probably a bit easier for me than others. It’s a route I would recommend.”

For boss Carsley, having more and more players experiencing football abroad, and all that comes with it, only makes his squad stronger and more mature.

While the wonders of modern technology with WyScout means he can check on all of them at the touch of a button.

The 47-year-old, who takes his Lion Cubs to Slovenia on Thursday and Andorra on Monday for two Euro qualifiers, said: “With Angel and other players going abroad, you’re constantly on the radar. 

“It’s not like they’ve moved country and that’s it, we’ve forgotten about you.

“That’s why it was important when I first got the job, I reached out to Angel to say ‘I’ve seen a lot of you, I’ve watched all your games every time you play for Boavista or Lille, I’m watching your clips’.

"That goes for all of the coaches in the pathway. 

“We’re constantly monitoring not only the players that go abroad but the players in the system so we’re fully aware of where they are.

“For these players to go to a different country with a different language, different food, different training and all the rest of it, it shows a lot about them personally. 

“I love working with players like that, who are happy to be out of their comfort zone and coping with it.”

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