Four young Championship players impressing at the U21 Euros

Callum Pawley looks at the Championship stars making their mark at the European U21 Championships. The competition showcases emerging talent, with players like James Beadle and Omari Hutchinson making significant contributions for England. The Netherlands also features standout players like Million Manhoef and Rav van den Berg as they progress in the tournament.

INMR

June 25, 2025

2–3 minutes

Callum Pawley, Championship, england, EURO, European Championships, Feature, football, James Beadle, Million Manhoef, Netherlands, Omari Hutchinson, Rav van den berg, sports, U21, U21 Euros, UEFA

The UEFA European Under-21 Championship is, naturally, a hotbed of young talent displaying their skills on the junior international stage. Names such as Luis Figo, Fabio Cannavaro, Andrea Pirlo, and Petr Čech have been named as players of the tournament since its inception.

Now, many Championship stars are looking to make their mark in the prestigious competition.

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James Beadle

In between the sticks for the Three Lions, Beadle has performed well when called upon. While he has, for now, returned to his parent club, Brighton & Hove Albion, he has been the number one at Hillsborough for the past 18 months for Sheffield Wednesday. Furthermore, the 20-year-old looks set for a move to newly promoted Birmingham City, so should once again be playing Championship football next season.

Beadle has featured in all of England’s games so far during their campaign, keeping a clean sheet in the group stage against Slovenia. The keeper has the second-highest save percentage at the tournament, with 76.5%, behind only Samuel Soares of Portugal.

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Omari Hutchinson

Despite having two Jamaican senior caps to his name, Hutchinson now again represents England at youth level. This has been a major boost to Lee Carsley and his side, who have utilised the Ipswich Town man’s abilities to good effect.

The wide man has started three of England’s four games so far, providing one assist along the way. In fact, the only game that Hutchinson did not start is the only game in which England failed to score, against Slovenia.

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Million Manhoef

England’s semi-final opponents Netherlands, also boast one of the standout Championship talents in Stoke City’s Manhoef. The winger was involved in 10 goals during last year’s Championship campaign and has featured in all of the Netherlands games, including their incredible defeat of Portugal, in which they played the majority of the game with 10 men.

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Rav van den berg

Sticking with the Netherlands, van den Berg spent the opening two games of the tournament on the bench before starting the final group game against Ukraine. Since then, the Netherlands are yet to concede a goal and the Middlesbrough man has more than played his part in this.

New boss Rob Edwards is likely to be watching on, impressed by his young defenders performances.

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Written by Callum Pawley