Jones gets striker’s role as Balogun quandary goes on

CURTIS JONES is primed to play up front for England Under 21s tonight, with Lee Carsley also set for talks with Folarin Balogun over his allegiances.

Balogun pulled out of the final camp before the summer Euros through injury, with the USA keen to get the Arsenal striker — on loan at Reims — to pledge his international future to them.

It left Carsley with just Cameron Archer as a recognised striker, but Jones came off the bench in a central role and scored in Saturday’s 4-0 win over France.

The Liverpool midfielder will occupy that position against Croatia at Craven Cottage tonight in a dress rehearsal for the Euros in Romania and Georgia this summer.

‘I’ve not spoken to Flo since last Monday,’ said manager Carsley. ‘But I will go out to France when we finish up and have a chat to him.

‘We have to be creative. Curtis has got really good attributes. He causes a lot of problems when he does drop deep.’

TV: England U21 v Croatia U21, 7.45pm. LIVE on BBC iPlayer.