Chelsea defender Jake Clarke-Salter named as England Under-21s’ captain for Euro 2019

The defender has previously captained the Under-19 side and won the Under-20 World Cup two years ago

Chelsea's Jake Clarke-Salter has been named as England Under-21s' captain for Euro 2019.

The defender has previously captained the Under-19 side and won the Under-20 World Cup two years ago.

He spent last season on loan at Vitesse Arnhem and will lead the Young Lions in Italy and San Marino, where they open their Group C campaign against France in Cesena on Tuesday.

Clarke-Salter, 21, said: "It's a massive honour for me to captain England at such a big tournament like this.

"When I look at the players who have played in the Under-21 Euros, along with the quality of the squad we have now, it's such a proud feeling to be named captain.

"It's a big responsibility to lead the team and make sure we keep our standards as high as we expect them to be on and off the pitch.

"We know we have a big job to do over the next couple of weeks if we want to achieve the success we hope and believe we can at the Euros.

"We've got a lot of natural leaders in the team and a lot of talent and we're going to do everything we can to try and win this tournament."

Clarke-Salter has nine caps for Aidy Boothroyd's side and has played twice for Chelsea, making his debut against Aston Villa in 2016.

He has also had loan spells at Bristol Rovers and Sunderland.

England also face Romania on Friday and Croatia on June 24 as they bid to win the European Championship for the first time in 35 years.