This is a big summer for Will Hughes.
Why? The summer of 2017 represents the midfielder’s last opportunity to shine for the England Under-21s on the European stage after he was named in Aidy Boothroyd’s 23-man squad to travel to Poland for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Finals.
Nearly five years have passed since he made his debut in November 2012. He was 17-years-old then, was still carving out his reputation as a unique English midfielder and just becoming an integral part of the Derby County first team.
Now 22, Hughes, ironically, now considers himself something of a ‘veteran’ for both club and country.
“Not just in terms of personnel, but football in general has changed so much in the five years since I made my debut for the Under-21s,” he told RamsTV.
“Time has flown by and I feel a bit like a veteran in that age group.”
Like his club career, Hughes has been a near mainstay on the international scene for England’s Under-21s, having made 21 appearances to date and even captained them recently in a 4-0 win over Denmark in March.
The number of caps, no doubt, would have been more at this stage had he not suffered a long-term knee injury in August 2015.
Hughes is an important member of the Three Lions’ squad and that is set to be the case again in Poland this summer.
Three tough games await Boothroyd’s men. Their Group A campaign begins with a clash with reigning European champions Sweden (Friday 16th June), before they face Slovakia (Monday 19th June) and hosts Poland (Thursday 22nd June).
After falling at the group stage hurdle two years ago in Czech Republic, Hughes says England’s Under-21s are determined to make their mark.
Assessing his journey from the end of the club season to now, he said: “There wasn’t much time to relax because we had a training camp leading up to the squad announcement.
“I had a week off, which I went away from just to relax, and then we officially met up at the end of last month. I knew beforehand that I had a long summer ahead of me.
“They are all challenging games. They all merit being in the finals and we know they will be tough matches.
“As an Under-21 group we failed quite miserably in previous competitions, but we will go into this one looking to win it.
“We think we can do that. On paper, it might not look like a tricky group, but we’re sure it will be.”
Seven players and a manager from the last European Under-21s Final squad have since gone on to step up to the England senior squad.
Ben Gibson, Michael Keane, John Stones, Nathan Redmond, James Ward-Prowse, Harry Kane and close-friend Jesse Lingard have all successfully made the step up, whilst Gareth Southgate is now the man in charge of the seniors.
With this summer representing Hughes’ last for England’s Under-21s on the European stage, he harbours dreams of following in their footsteps in the coming years.
He added: “There’s been a few changes in the squad and the manager too, especially with Gareth (Southgate) previously who did so well with us and we ended up winning the Toulon Tournament.
“Hopefully that will stand us in good stead. You look at the players now, who have stepped up from the Under-21s and gone on to play for the senior team, I have played with a lot of them.
“That still gives me a great deal of motivation that I can get there too.”
