West Brom goalkeeper Josh Griffiths named in England U21s squad for U21 European Championships
West Brom goalkeeper Josh Griffiths has been included in the England Under-21 squad set to compete at this summer’s Under-21 European Championships, as confirmed by England’s official Twitter account.
The squad was announced on 14 June and includes West Brom goalkeeping sensation Griffiths who will feature alongside the likes of Premier League stars Anthony Gordon, Morgan Gibbs-White and Curtis Jones at the Championships in Georgia and Romania this summer.
Action will get underway later this month on 21 June with England and Griffiths set to take on Israel, Germany and the Czech Republic during the group-stage phase of the tournament.
After spending the first half of the season on loan at League One side Portsmouth, the 21-year-old returned to the Baggies in January and made his senior debut for the club, a 1-1 draw at home against Blackburn on 15 February.
This was the beginning of a 10-match starting streaking in the Championship for the young goalkeeper in which he kept four clean sheets, an impressive return.
Eyes on Griffiths
This inclusion in the squad will be an exciting talking point among Baggies’ fans with one of their own to keep an eye out for in the Under-21 European championships. It is a deserved call-up for the young keeper as he gets set to compete for a starting place with Carl Rushworth and James Trafford.
Hopefully, Griffiths will enjoy a positive tournament to help continue the talented youngster’s development. Strong performances on an international stage of this magnitude will likely give the 2001-born goalkeeper a lot of confidence going forward.
Rushworth and Trafford have both been the number one for their loan clubs in League One this season, as Griffiths was at Portsmouth. Rushworth kept 19 clean sheets in his 37 league appearances between the sticks for Lincoln City while Trafford kept 22 clean sheets in 45 appearances for Bolton.
Griffiths’ Championship experience and performances at a higher level should hopefully see him get the nod in net, however, any experience at this level, whether it be starting or not, will be extremely valuable to the youngster.
In other West Brom news, a bid has been submitted for a club transfer target.