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Barry wants Wilshere at U-21 tournament

Gareth Barry will captain England against Ghana on Tuesday © PA Photos

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Gareth Barry has urged Stuart Pearce to pick the likes of Andy Carroll and Jack Wilshere for the European Under-21 Championships this summer.

A club v country row is simmering over the availability of players who have featured for the England senior side, with Pearce expecting them to step down a level for the Denmark tournament.

Arsene Wenger is expected to be reluctant to let Wilshere play, however, given his status as a first-team regular at Arsenal this season.

Barry has echoed Fabio Capello's sentiments by insisting that exposure to tournament football will benefit younger players when they come to compete at the senior competitions.

"I think for their development and the good of England then they should be out there playing," said Barry, who will captain England in Tuesday's friendly with Ghana. "There's always going to be a sticky situation, but it's for the good of England. If you look at other countries you see them fielding their best players, no matter what level they're playing [at].

"I'm sure if you speak to the players as well, they'll be wanting to play as much football as they can. It's not as if they've had five years of football playing week in, week out."

While Capello admitted that he made a blunder on the disciplinary front with Wayne Rooney, Barry believes players should not be informed if they are one booking away from a suspension. Rooney was cautioned in the 2-0 win over Wales, having not been told to tread carefully, and will now miss the next qualifier against Switzerland.

"No, I'd go along with the theory it shouldn't matter - you can't go out there and play a different game, you've got to play your natural game," Barry said. "And that was Wayne, flying into tackles that he would do week in, week out. You don't need different things in your mind going into a game."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.