Pearce takes on Under-21s after compromise is agreed

Football Association officials and their Manchester City counterparts have thrashed out a compromise that will allow Stuart Pearce to take charge of the England Under-21 team.

On Sunday, Pearce said he had accepted the job of succeeding Peter Taylor, only for his club to point out that no agreement had been reached. However, a solution has been found which takes into account City's fears over Pearce being side-tracked at a key stage of the campaign. It means Pearce will take charge for next Tuesday's friendly with Spain at Pride Park and also this summer's European Championship in the Netherlands, but miss a proposed friendly in March.

Although City were anxious not to stand in Pearce's way, they felt they had to take a stand, even though their manager maintained that the job would only require him to spend five days away. The negative reaction of many City fans to the FA's pursuit of their manager reinforced the club's position.

"It is a fantastic honour," Pearce said. "I was planning to attend the June tournament for scouting purposes and now I will have an opportunity of getting more out of the competition by working with the best youngsters in this country."

Blackburn's forward Matt Derbyshire, Aston Villa defender Gary Cahill and the Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart are three new faces in a 23-man squad.