Stuart Pearce will name Jack Wilshere in his provisional 40-man squad for the European Under-21 Championship in June, much to the dismay of the midfielder's club manager, Arsène Wenger.

Pearce's long-established policy is to take the strongest available squad to the tournament, which this summer will be hosted by Denmark, as he reasons that the senior team will ultimately benefit if the younger side has been victorious.

But his stance has brought him into conflict with Wenger at Arsenal, who says that once a player has progressed to the full national team his days as a youth international ought to be over. He argued the case two summers ago over Theo Walcott but Pearce insisted on taking him to the Under-21 finals in Sweden and the same row has played out over Wilshere.

Wenger has voiced burn-out fears in relation to Wilshere, who has broken into Fabio Capello's England team. The 19-year-old has already played 52 matches for club and country at all levels this season and the total could rise to 61 if the Under-21s were to reach the final of the tournament.

Pearce has maintained that he will not shirk a call to Wenger to explain his selection decisions. If he truly wanted to irritate him, he could call up Walcott too, who remains eligible for the Under-21s, but that will not happen.

Wilshere has said he wants to play and not only because of his patriotism; he believes the tournament would benefit his career. He has noted how some of Germany's Under-21s stars from the previous finals, chiefly Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira, went on to have an excellent World Cup in South Africa.

Pearce will trim his squad to 23 on 1 June. He is also ready to pick the Liverpool striker Andy Carroll, together with other high-profile Premier League names.