Where are they now? The England U20 XI from Adam Wharton’s debut in 2023
Clamour is a crucial part of any proper international football tournament – and Adam Wharton is the target of this England tradition at Euro 2024.
Crystal Palace’s midfield wonderkid didn’t even make his Under-20 international debut until November 2023 (versus Italy), and, now, a nation has put its collective hopes on his shoulders after underwhelming performances at Euro 2024 so far.
We thought we’d take a look at the XI from Wharton’s Under-20 debut and see what has become of his teammates in the seven months since the start of the midfielder’s meteoric rise.
GK: James Beadle
Goakeeper Beadle is a Brighton player, but has recently spent time on loan with Sheffield Wednesday, Oxford United, and Crewe Alexandra.
He’s represented England at every age group but for the senior team, and he’s still only 19—the future is looking bright for this young stopper.
RB: Ronnie Edwards
21-year-old right-back Edwards plays his club football with League One Peterborough United, for whom he has already made 125 appearances.
Edwards came up through Barnet in the National League before moving to Peterborough—a rare pathway for a young England player.
CB: Charlie Hughes
Hughes came up through the youth academies of Manchester City and then Liverpool. The ball-playing centre-back made his Wigan debut in 2022, first captained the side in 2023—at the age of 19—and has captained the Latics many times since.
He’s 20 now, and the future looks exceptionally bright for this old head on young shoulders.
CB: Jadel Katongo
Another Manchester City academy kid, Katongo played alongside Ronnie Edwards at Peterborough in 2023-24. Big up Peterborough United providing half of England’s Under-20s defence in this game.
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LB: Lewis Hall
Hall left boyhood club Chelsea for the team he grew up supporting, Newcastle United, last summer. The move was a loan, initially, but was made permanent with the youngster fulfilled certain conditions which, when met, meant that the Toon were obligated to buy Hall outright.
Chiefly a left-back, Hall is also comfortable playing on the wing or in midfield.
After finally breaking into the Newcastle first team due to injuries to Dan Burn and Jamaal Lascelles, Hall found a bit of form and has become an important member of Eddie Howe’s squad.
READ: 10 big-name stars Jude Bellingham played alongside at England Under-15 level
CM: Archie Gray
Durham-born Archie Gray joined Leeds United as a child and is still there to this day. The central midfielder is highly thought of within the game and has begun to turn heads in the wider football world.
Gray has represented England at every level but senior, and many people believe this may be his final season with Leeds. Gray is destined for the top—you can believe that—following in Adam Wharton’s slipstream. Speaking of which…
CM: Adam Wharton
When Adam Wharton signed for Crystal Palace in January, joining for roughly £20,000,000, it was largely accepted as a fairly expensive one-for-the-future type signing.
Wrong.
Turns out Wharton was absolutely ready for the Premier League, and has absolutely shone since joining the Eagles. He’s already been capped for England’s senior team, and his Euros debut awaits…
CM: Alfie Devine
Devine scored on his Tottenham senior debut, in an FA Cup tie with Marine (it was on the BBC—you might remember it). In the 2023-24 season, he went on two separate loans to Port Vale and Plymouth Argyle respectively.
The attacking midfielder’s time might yet come for Spurs—let’s see what Ange Postecoglou thinks of him this summer.
READ: Where are they now? The last 10 England players given their debut by Roy Hodgson
RW: Samuel Edozie
Lewisham-born Edozie came up through the academies of Millwall and then Manchester City. The winger only made one senior appearance for City, in a friendly, before being offered first team football at Southampton, where he remains to this day, having just won promotion back to the Premier League.
LW: Sam Bell
Bristol City forward Bell is 22 now, and a first-team regular for the Robins.
His dad, Micky was also a Bristol City player back in the day. The match against Italy Under-20s alongside Wharton was one of just two England Under-20 caps handed to Bell.
ST: Dane Scarlett
At all age group levels for England, Scarlett has scored 23 goals in 36 appearances.
That’s a very decent return for the Tottenham striker who has been on loan at Portsmouth and Ipswich recently, but he did also make four Premier League appearances for Spurs in the 2023-24 season, as well playing one game in the League Cup.
The 20-year-old definitely has a future in the game.