England under-21 coach Gareth Southgate has confirmed that he expects Tottenham striker Harry Kane will be part of his squad for this summer's European Championship finals in the Czech Republic.
Kane made a scoring debut for England in their Euro 2016 qualifying win against Lithuania on Friday, sparking suggestions that the 21-year-old would be elevated to the senior England squad on a permanent basis.
Yet Southgate has been assured by England boss Roy Hodgson that the striker who was a key man in his side's qualifying push will be available to play in the under-21 finals in June, regardless of his progress with the senior squad.
"Roy Hodgson and I know that the seniors are in a good group position [in their Euro 2016 qualifying group] and he feels that the experience of going to the Czech Republic in the summer will be more beneficial to Harry than the two games he has got," Southgate told reporters. "That is absolutely the case regardless of his displays between now and then.
"We still feel we can give the players the best possible preparation to go into the seniors if they have the experience of the European Championship in the summer. That is still the case with Harry."
Many of Europe's top stars have gained tournament experience in the under-21 championships in recent years and Southgate is convinced Kane will benefit from an extended under-21 international career.
"I put a montage on for the players today of the previous tournament," he continued. "People like Marco Verratti and Isco played, who have really come even more to prominence since.
"I don't think any of our guys are bigger than those two in terms of where they are at this moment. It is another stage for them to test themselves against the very best."
Germany are among the nations that have benefitted from honing players at the European under-21 championship, with their winning team from the European Championships in 2009 featuring Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Benedikt Howedes, Mats Hummels, Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira, who were all part of their World Cup winning squad in Brazil last summer.