Jordan Henderson and on-loan striker Danny Welbeck have been called up to Stuart Pearce's England Under-21 Squad for the forthcoming games against Denmark and Iceland.
The pair will travel as part of a monster 31-man squad to take on the Danes in Viborg on March 24th, before returning to these shores to face Iceland at Preston North End's Deepdale ground on March 28th.
There appears to be no route to the Senior squad for either player, as Liverpool's Andy Carroll & Arsenal's Jack Wilshere have been omitted from Pearce's squad ahead of full call-ups later this week. Of course there could be injuries, but the chances look slim.
In all honesty, as talented a player as Henderson is, I in part agree with his exclusion. He has been out of form for a couple of weeks, and could do with featuring in a much lower pressure game than the ones the full squad will encounter over the international break.
Welbeck, who was the subject of my own impassioned speech, as well as that of Asamoah Gyan to take his talents to Ghana as opposed to England, could still qualify for the Black Stars for as long as he avoids a senior call up. Still entirely possible when the likes of Jay Bothroyd were keeping a flying Welbeck out the squad earlier this season.
Either way, it's good that at least one manager within the England set-up is prepared to look at talent north of the Watford Gap.