Monday 30 October 2017 15:03, UK
The mentality of Premier League clubs must change if England's youngest talent is to break into the senior side, according to former U21s boss Stuart Pearce.
England U17s' World Cup win in India against Spain on Saturday capped off a memorable five months for the country's youth teams.
Victories in the U19 European Championship, U20 World Cup, Toulon Tournament (U20) as well as reaching the U21 European Championship final made it one of the country's most successful years.
However, few opportunities have been presented for the Young Lions at their Premier League clubs, and Pearce feels a complete change of mentality is needed if they want to reach England's senior squad.
"What we need to have is a mentality with the club side's where 'look when you have our players we trust you to give a wonderful experience at international level'," Pearce told Premier League Daily.
"All these players now that know what it's like to win at all the age groups will want to come back time-and-time again to represent their country, and not one of one of them will pull out of squads."
Despite a lack of first-team club football, Pearce - who managed England U21s between 2007-13 - believes the FA's current youth structure is improving the national game long-term.
"We've got a manager who knows the importance of all the age groups below him, which is fantastic," added Pearce.
"Rather than an England manager who divorces himself from anything that goes on below him and just concentrates on the senior team.
"The whole structure is so much better now and that is thrown out with the results. In the last seven months, the results have been astonishing.
"I've got to give a massive pat on the back to the FA because they've put a structure in place now that they're giving their teams at all age groups experience.
"They're having mini tournaments against some of the best countries in the world, so the fixture programme's much better."
