Teenage goalkeeper Finlay Herrick has been rewarded for his impressive National League form with a call-up to Lee Carsley’s England Under-21 squad.
The former Boreham Wood loanee, contracted to West Ham United, made a strong impact during his two-and-a-half-month spell with the Hertfordshire side as they push for promotion from the fifth tier. Herrick went unbeaten in his first nine league appearances and kept five clean sheets in ten outings before a late-October defeat to Forest Green Rovers.
Herrick has joined the England U21s for their European Championship qualifier against Slovakia in Presov, stepping in for Manchester United loanee Elyh Harrison. West Ham confirmed that the 19-year-old replaces Harrison and links up with fellow goalkeepers Tommy Setford (Arsenal) and Tommy Simkin (Stoke City).
If he features on Tuesday, Herrick will have represented England in six age groups, having already been capped from U16 to U20 level. He is also the fifth goalkeeper Carsley has selected during this international window, with changes required after injuries elsewhere in the squad.
The U21s head into the Slovakia fixture in strong form, sitting second in Group D with a game in hand and yet to concede a goal in qualifying. Goals from Divin Mubama and Tyrique George sealed a 2–0 win over the Republic of Ireland on Friday, extending their perfect start.
Herrick is the only player in the current squad to have played Premier League 2 or National League football this season. A win on Tuesday would take England above Slovakia in the standings, with kick-off at 5:00pm.