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England under 21`s Butland and Redmond

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Image for England under 21`s Butland and Redmond

By James Burch

Former Birmingham City academy graduates, Jack Butland and Nathan Redmond prepare for today`s England under 21 Euro 2015 Qualifying play-off against Croatia under 21`s at Molineux, home of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Redmond who was at the club for eleven years from 2002-2013 has a great affiliation with Birmingham City making sixty two domestic appearances and scoring seven goals before eventually being sold to Norwich City due to Blues poor financial situation. The twenty year old has fond memories of his time at St. Andrews becoming the second youngest player to ever make his Blues debut behind club legend Trevor Francis. After featuring in England under 21`s Euro 2013 championships, he has been a mainstay in this year`s qualifiers under manager Gareth Southgate and surely has ambitions to make the step up to the first team, if he impresses in next summer`s tournament.

Redmond has already played under England senior manager Roy Hodgson when he took charge of an Under 21 game back in August 2013, giving the wide man the man of the match award for the game. Kitts Green born Redmond scored his first hat-rick for the under 21`s side in May 2014 in a 3-1 win over Wales that helped his country open up a nine point gap at the top of the qualifying table.

Having featured nine times this season for his current side Norwich City, the Birmingham born winger has helped the Canaries climb to the top of the Championship table on 21 points. He met his old side at Carrow Road last month as the sides drew 2-2 with another former Blues player Cameron Jerome scoring twice in the process.

Jack Butland who famously made his England senior debut in a game against Italy before his Blues debut now plays for Stoke City and the 21 year old will be hoping to keep two clean sheets in today`s game at the Molineux and then four days later in Croatia. Butland who played twenty nine games in his first stint at the club before re-joining on loan in January 2013 playing another seventeen games.

Butland who will make his 25th and 26th appearances for the under 21 side only conceded twice in ten games during qualifying and he is classed as one of the safest pair of hands in under-age international football. Butland has experience at tournaments, like Redmond playing in the Euro 2013 competition in Israel that England finished bottom of their group with three losses from three games.

It is great that two players that learnt their trade at Birmingham City are now representing their country and hopefully England will have the talent to overcome Croatia over two legs and compete in next summer`s championships. It must also be of great encouragement to players in the Blues Academy that with hard work, talent and determination anything is possible and they could be in these two former Birmingham City players` footsteps one day.



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