Gareth Southgate says Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard will benefit from being included in the latest England squad.
The Manchester United pair were both named in Southgate's first selection as the Three Lions' interim manager, ahead of this month's World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia.
Having been part of the group for Euro 2016, Rashford was not included in the group for last month's victory over Slovakia – instead marking his first appearance for the Under-21s with a hat-trick in a 6-1 victory over Norway.
Lingard, meanwhile, has not been in a squad since being drafted in for last November's win over France, for which he was an unused substitute.
And, speaking to FATV, Southgate had words of praise for both players after announcing his 23-man group for the next two games.
He said: "We'd had the discussion already, a couple of weeks ago, around what we thought we thought was best [for Marcus] at this moment in time and I felt it was important to stick to that rationale.
“I still think that we would hope that Marcus would go to the under-21 championships next summer”
Gareth Southgate
"I still think that we would hope that Marcus would go to the under-21 championships next summer because it would be great for his development – there's obviously a long way to go until then but that, we feel, would be a good experience for him.
"At this moment in time, we're looking at these two games and he's in good form. He's scoring again for Manchester United and was outstanding in the under-21 game against Norway, so it's good for him to be involved back with the seniors."
Rashford scores a hat-trick for England U21s in September
Of Lingard, Southgate added: "To get into that [Manchester United] side, with the money that's been spent and the profile of the players that are there, shows you what he's done.
"He was outstanding for us in the European Championships two years ago, probably our best player, and he dealt with the pressure of that situation really well. He's a player we like – he's an intelligent footballer with good pace who plays into players' feet and gets into pockets of space, and he's a goal threat.
"We think it'll be good for him to be involved in this more senior group."
Tickets are still available for England's game against Malta on Saturday 8 October – book online at TheFA.com/Tickets now.
