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Southgate perplexed by Tom Ince's England U21 snub

Tom Ince consulted his father Paul, capped 53 times by England, before withdrawing from the Under-21s indefinitely © @hullcityteam

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England under-21 coach Gareth Southgate has warned Tom Ince to brace himself for a possible backlash after the Hull winger confirmed he no longer wishes to be considered for the squad.

Southgate expressed his "surprise" over the decision taken by Ince, 23, which came after discussions with the player and his father, former England captain Paul Ince.

And the part played by Ince senior in his son's withdrawal ahead of this summer's European Under-21 Championships will have especially perplexed Southgate given the former Manchester United star's comments in the wake of a 1-0 win over Wales in 2011.

Paul Ince, capped 53 times by his country at full international level, had insisted: "If you get called up, you should make sure you're there.

"Nowadays, there are people who make excuses - they've got a knock, they're injured - because they want to be fit for that game at the weekend. It's sad."

Tom Ince, who played in all England's under-21 qualifying games, is currently on loan at Derby after failing to hold down a regular first team place at the KC Stadium, and his future for next season remains unclear.

After naming a 24-man squad for the upcoming friendlies against the Czech Republic and Germany, Southgate said: "I'm disappointed because he's a good player and only time will tell whether it's a good decision on his part.

"I've spoken to both [Tom and Paul] and the message from both was exactly the same. I've said to Tom and Paul they need to be aware of possible consequences of the decision in terms of how it would appear from the outside and I think they understand that.

"It's a shame because he's been through all the qualifying and I'd assumed he would want to put himself on that stage which is a great opportunity for all these young players, but on this occasion it is not going to be the case.

"I guess it's for Tom to explain his full reasons. I've taken on board what they've said and I have to now look at the rest of the group and working with those guys that are fully committed to being with us."

While Ince's advanced age effectively means his under-21 career is now at an end, Southgate revealed he was delighted to offer a recall to Tottenham defender Eric Dier, who opted out of one of Southgate's squads in November.

Southgate added: "Eric felt he needed to go away and work on his game - he wanted to establish himself at centre-back and he's done that which is great credit to him.

"I did speak to him before this squad because I wanted to check he wanted to be a part of it but he said all along it was a temporary thing and he needed more time to work on his game and he's delighted to be back in the fray."

Southampton teenager Matt Targett is included in the squad for the first time for the games against the Czechs in Prague next Friday and against Germany at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium the following Monday.

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