Gareth Southgate says he has “protected” Marcus Rashford by not making the 19-year-old available for the England Under-21s European championships this summer, instead selecting the Manchester United man for the senior squad which plays two games next month.

Southgate has also omitted Theo Walcott, as he did for the internationals in March, as well as captain Wayne Rooney signalling that in the attacking positions at least this is a new era for the England team. Ross Barkley and Daniel Sturridge are both out requiring treatment to injuries and have not been included in the squad to play Scotland in a World Cup qualifier in Glasgow on June 10 and then a friendly against France in Paris three days later.

In the past the Football Association has been keen for players to gain tournament experience in their age-group teams before playing exclusively for the senior side. Harry Kane went to the 2105 Under-21s European championships, having already made his senior England debut, alongside John Stones and Saido Berahino.

Spain, who are also at the tournament in Poland next month, have selected a number of players capped at senior level in a very strong squad. Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez; Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio; Denis Suarez of Barcelona; Everton’s Gerard Deulofeu and Inaki Williams of Athletic Bilbao are part of Spain’s Under-21s squad. Manchester Cty’s Leroy Sane is in the Germany Under-21 squad as well as Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah.