Nat Chalobah impressed with England U21s squad spirit

Nathaniel Chalobah believes the new England Under-21s squad is shaping up well after their latest victory in Euro Qualifying.

As one of the more experienced members of the group – this is the third different squad he has played with – Chalobah is no stranger to working in a new environment.

And after their latest Euro Qualifying win over Kazakhstan in Coventry last week made it three wins from three in the new campaign, the 20-year-old says the Three Lions group are constantly evolving together.

"It’s been good. As always when you meet up as a new group, a few of the boys are shy and quiet and it was like that on the first trip last month," revealed the Chelsea midfielder, who is on loan for the season with Italian club SSC Napoli.

"But this time, we’ve been to a few activities and we’ve all got to know each other more and a few of the boys are coming out of their shell a little bit now.

"The last two groups that I’ve been with, most of the lads had known each other from previous age groups. 

"So it’s a lot different to last year because with many of the players in this age group I’d known or heard of in the past, but had never really played together.

"But we’re all gelling together now and everyone is starting to mix in with the group, so it’s been good."

With only one match to prepare for in their latest get-together, boss Gareth Southgate took the chance to take the players away from the training pitch for a few days.

Meeting up in rural Cheshire, away from their usual St. George’s Park base, the squad embarked on a tree-climbing adventure in Delamere Forest before spending the following morning building, and racing, their own rafts.

Chalobah is one of the most experienced members of the Under-21s squad

And Chalobah saw the instant benefits of those outings among the group when they got back to the business of preparing for the game, which ended in a 3-0 victory at the Ricoh Arena.

"It helps, the rafting was a really good experience for every single one of us," he revealed. 

"Most of us had never done it before and it was important to find out a bit more about our team-mates.

"For the lads that are scared of the water or who aren’t the loudest in the group, we found out everything about each other and it was more about team-work.

"If one person is going down, then so are the rest. It all relates to football anyway so I think it was good that the gaffer decided to do that."

Chalobah and the U21s are in action next month when they face a double-header against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo on Thursday 12 November before returning to home soil for a match with Switzerland at the Amex Stadium in Brighton.