Young Leeds United defender earns England call-up

The 22-year-old centre-back has been rewarded for his consistent season with the Whites and has become a regular in the England under-21 squad through their qualification games to make it to the finals.

Lees earned his first cap last September against Norway and has kept his place in the squad since.

He will head to Turkey for a week-long training camp this month before England play their first group game on Wednesday, June 5.

Lees earned praise from under-21s boss Stuart Pearce, who said: “Tom deserves to be on the plane to Israel. He contributed to getting us to the tournament.

“Tom’s attitude since joining up has been excellent. We’ve seen through his performances for his club that he’s a first-class professional.

“It’s been important that he’s played a lot of football this season and that he’s given us a great opportunity to have a look at him, to know that he joins us in good form.”

The full England under-21 squad is:

Goalkeepers - Butland (Stoke), Steele (Middlesbrough), Rudd (Norwich)

Defenders - Caulker (Tottenham), Clyne (Southampton), Dawson (West Brom), Lees (Leeds), Rose (Sunderland, loan from Tottenham), Shaw (Southampton), Smith (Tottenham Hotspur), Wisdom (Liverpool)

Midfielders - Chalobah (Watford, loan from Chelsea), Henderson (Liverpool), Ince (Blackpool), Lansbury (Nottingham Forest), Lowe (Blackburn), McEachran (Chelsea), McManaman (Wigan Athletic), Shelvey (Liverpool), Townsend (QPR, loan from Tottenham)

Forwards - Zaha (Crystal Palace, loan from Manchester United), Marvin Sordell (Bolton), Connor Wickham (Sunderland).