Clarke-Salter And Skipper Gray Shine As The Young Lions Are Rated From Their Cyrille Regis International Beating Of Romania

Let’s take an in-depth look at England U21 player performance from Saturday evening’s Cyrille Regis International victory over Daniel Isaila’s Romania U21s at Molineux Stadium on Saturday evening, as Aidy Boothroyd’s Young Lions became the first team to defeat the Romanians in just under a year.

Dean Henderson: 8/10

Enjoying a rare start between the sticks in the absences of injured Angus Gunn and Freddie Woodman, the Manchester United man would have been disappointed with the role he played in the away nation’s only goal, but made some impressive stops aside from that, rising to the occasion and making a positive impression.

Trent Alexander-Arnold: 6/10

Starting in the right-back position within a flat back four, the Liverpool star put in a respectable display in a defensive sense, but didn’t cover himself in glory going forward, lacking any real conviction with his final ball, had it been a little better, things may have been a bit more comfortable for the Young Lions.

Fikayo Tomori: 7/10

Occupying one of the two centre-half roles alongside his fellow Chelsea youngster, Tomori was solid and dominated the air, warding off many an offensive from the visiting nation and also proving a threat in the other box, though he was somewhat overshadowed by his partner.

Jake Clarke-Salter: 9/10

The tall centre-half was making his debut for Boothroyd’s men and couldn’t have asked for it to have gone any better, winning the Man of the Match award for his defensive efforts coupled with popping up with the Young Lions’ second goal from a corner, what a way to bounce back from consecutive domestic red cards.

Kyle Walker-Peters: 8/10

On the left side of the back four, the Tottenham Hotspur youngster was a real presence throughout the 90 minutes in both capacities, Walker-Peters is better known for his attack play but impressed most at the back where he made several goal-saving blocks, he looks like a complete player.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 7/10

Playing in a slightly unconventional role in midfield, the Arsenal man coped well with the unfamiliar position, protecting the defence with some strong tackles and supporting the attack with silky play and passing vision before hobbling off with a knock on early in the second-half.

Ovie Ejaria: 8/10

Another man making his debut was Reds youngster also on loan at Sunderland Ejaria in a defensive two with Maitland-Niles and outshone his more experienced teammate with a steely performance, where he came into his own with his tough-tackling style, it’s not hard to see why he got the call for the first time.

Kieran Dowell: 8/10

Featuring on the right of the three supporting the lone striker, the Nottingham Forest youngster put in a very active display and was very busy both guarding and attacking, though he will need to work in his end product, wasting various opportunities that he made, overall, Dowell caught the eye, however.

Ademola Lookman: 8/10

As another pacey attacker supporting Tammy Abraham up-front on his own, the Red Bull Leipzig charge, in an exciting England attacking performance, was lively throughout, winning the corner from which the second strike came and assisting Demarai Gray for the first, he will be raring to go again at Bramall Lane on Tuesday night.

Demarai Gray: 9/10

Captaining the Young Lions for the first time in his native Midlands, Gray of Leicester City led by example and was a clear contender for Man of the Match, scoring the first goal, a pacey deflected effort from just inside the penalty box and had he not been subbed off after just over 60 minutes, may have picked up Man of the Match, he will now be pushing for a first senior call.

Tammy Abraham: 7/10

Spearheading the offensive by himself, the tall young forward didn’t enjoy his best day in front of goal and was left frustrated at times, albeit the service into him wasn’t always up to the standard he will have been hoping for, it just wasn’t Abraham’s day and he will chalk it off and go again.

Jonjoe Kenny: 7/10

Replacing goal-scorer Gray in the second period, the Everton youngster looked agile at right-back and passed well, with great vision into forward areas and aerial ability, though he was found out defensively a few times and it almost cost Boothroyd’s men late on.

Joshua Onomah: 6/10

Coming on for injured Maitland-Niles in the early second-half, Onomah was quiet and didn’t impact the match too much, this was uncharacteristic of the skillful midfielder, who has impressed this season in Aston Villa’s push for Sky Bet Championship promotion.

James Maddison: 7/10

One man who did ruffle a few feathers after his own introduction was the Norwich City youngster who was keen to put his stamp on the affair and very nearly did so with an effort that struck the post and went out for a goal-kick, agonisingly close for the substitute.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 7/10

Much like Maddison, the tall forward came off the bench and came within inches of beating Ionut Radu between the sticks with a fine lobbed effort and one low shot from a similar position, the Premier League star is expected to return to the starting Xl in hometown Sheffield tomorrow evening.

So, now that each featuring squad member from the Young Lions’ fifth-straight victory has been well and truly rated, can Boothroyd’s starlets rack up such high numbers come Tuesday night? When Oleksandr Holovko’s Ukraine U21s will be the 2019 European U21 Championship qualifying visitors to Bramall Lane? Stay right here for all the build-up and reaction to that highly-anticipated fixture.

If you want to read more about England U21s’ Cyrille Regis International victory over Romania U21s, you can catch our Match Report here, or our Five Main Talking Points here, and for archives of our live text commentary, live from the Molineux Stadium Press Box on Saturday, hit up our Live Blog here.