BURNLEY's Dwight McNeil is a surprise omission from the latest England Under 21s squad.

Aidy Boothroyd has announced his squad for upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Kosovo on September 4 and Austria 4 days later.

But despite starring for the Clarets last season and being an ever-present in the Premier League, exciting winger McNeil has not made the 23-man squad.

The 20-year-old made his U21 debut in a 2–2 draw against Slovenia in Maribor in October 2019 and has three caps at that level.

There is, however, a place for former Accrington Stanley goalkeeper Josef Bursik. The 20-year-old made 16 league appearances for the Reds in the 2019/20 season on loan from Stoke City.

The stopper has been loaned out to League One rivals Doncaster Rovers this season.

England and Austria top their group with 12 points, and Boothroyd said: "We know we are in good shape for the qualification and this is a hungry squad that have a great opportunity in front of them with next summer's finals not too far away.

"We have to get the job done first and these will be two tough fixtures. I am looking forward to seeing the players again and helping them with another key stage in their development."

England U21 squad: Brandon Austin (Spurs), Josef Bursik (Doncaster, on loan from Hull), Aaron Ramsdale (Sheff Utd), Max Aarons (Norwich), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Rhian Brewster (Liverpool), Todd Cantwell (Norwich), Josh Dasilva (Brentford), Tom Davies (Everton), Ebere Eze (QPR), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Ben Godfrey (Norwich), Marc Guehi (Chelsea), Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea), Reece James (Chelsea), James Justin (Leicester), Lloyd Kelly (Bournemouth), Reiss Nelson (Arsenal), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal), Jonathan Panzo (Monaco), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ryan Sessegnon (Spurs), Oliver Skipp (Norwich, on loan from Spurs)