A squad worth £428m - but how good are England Under-21s?

England head into the start of their European Championship Under-21s title defence with a squad littered with talent.

While Thomas Tuchel's senior side laboured through June's matches against Andorra and Senegal with abject performances a year out from the start of the 2026 World Cup, Lee Carsley's Young Lions could provide potential stars and hope for that campaign.

The under-21's boss was dealt the blow of losing two key figures on the even of Thursday's opener against the Czech Republic, with striker Liam Delap and midfielder Jobe Bellingham withdrawing from the squad following recent transfers.

Delap ed Chelsea from Ipswich Town, while Bellingham signed for Borussia Dortmund from Sunderland in big-money moves. Both will instead feature at the Fifa Club World Cup in the United States.

Even without the pair, England's 23-man squad in Slovakia will have a total worth of around £428.2m.

While Tuchel's men have more questions around them than answers, there is much more optimism for Carsley's talented youngsters.

BBC Sport takes a closer look.

The England Under-21 side of 2023 was a special one, but Carsley has challenged his new-look 2025 side to be even better.

"It's difficult to compare [2023 and 2025] at the minute," he told BBC Sport in March.

"We are looking at the last squad knowing what they did. To win six games and not concede any goals [in the entire tournament], I think that will be very hard to recreate. But it's a goal and it's a target.

"That's the challenge we have put down for these players – we want them to be better than the last group, so hopefully they can be."

Six players from the Euro 2023 winners' group were in the senior squad selected by Tuchel for this month's matches - Levi Colwill, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Gordon, Curtis Jones, Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke.

The 2023 European Under-21 champions (23-man squad) stats at the start of that tournament:

The 2025 European Under-21 Championship squad stats at the start of the tournament:

Following Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Senegal at the City Ground, Tuchel and his England side were booed off after the country's first ever defeat to an African nation in senior international football.

Goals were an issue across the defeat to Senegal and the poor showing in Saturday's 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Andorra, scoring two across the games.

But how do the two sides shape up as a whole, creatively?

U21 squad’s 2024-25 stats (all comps):

Senior squad’s 2024-25 stats (all comps):

Midfielders in the U21 squad:

Midfielders in the senior squad:

*Including Ollie Watkins who withdrew from the senior squad due to injury

According to the website Football Transfers' 'Estimated Transfer Value' algorithm, the current under-21 squad is valued at £428.2m, just over 50% higher than that of the group who won Euro 2023 (£280m at the start of that tournament).

Champions League, Premier League and full international appearances, along with current contract status at club level, all contribute to the ETV rating that Football Transfers give - and it is different to the market value players may be sold and bought for.

The worth of the current team is boosted by many playing prominent roles at big clubs in the Premier League and across Europe.

For example, the top four players with the highest values all featured in European competitions this term - Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri (£63m), Tottenham's Archie Gray (£53.5m) and Liverpool's Harvey Elliott (£41.1m).

Newcastle right-back Tino Livramento (£42.8m) and Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson (£40.3m) also played major roles as their clubs sealed European football for next season.

It's worth noting the overall value of the Euro 2023 team has risen hugely, going from £280m in 2023 to £626m in March 2025.

Should this current squad see such a percentage increase, we will be looking at a set of young England players with a combined value of towards £1bn.

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