The Spanish 23-man squad for this summer’s Under 21 European Championships in Poland has been unveiled by Coach Albert Celades.
Spain qualified for the tournament after an edgy playoff victory over Austria having finished runners-up to Sweden in their qualification group but will be among the favourites for the tournament.
Real Madrid star Marco Asensio is included in the squad, as are highly-rated talents such as Dani Ceballos (Betis), Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid), Carlos Soler (Valencia), Sandro Ramirez (Malaga) and Denis Suarez (Barcelona).
Among the absentees are Porto midfielder Oliver Torres and Valencia forward Munir El Haddadi, both of whom played big roles in qualification.
“Carlos Soler is a player that we like very much and he has had a very complete season since his debut in December,” explained Celades after the announcement of the squad.
"We are very familiar with Sandro Ramirez who has had a magnificent season (with Malaga) and we believe that he can help us a great deal.
“Marco Asensio has developed in ways and at a rate we could not have imagined, we are delighted to have him in the squad due to his immense quality.
“There are many other sides in this tournament who are in a similar situation to us where a number of our players have been called up to the nation’s first team squad.
“Our only goal currently is to prepare thoroughly for the tournament and give ourselves the best possible chance of winning the tournament.”
Celades’ men have been drawn alongside Serbia, Portugal and Macedonia in Group B of the 12-team tournament.
Spain Under 21 squad: Kepa, Pau Lopez, Blanco, Jonny, Yeray, Grimaldo, Mere, Vallejo, Odriozola, Gaya, Bellerin, Merino, Oyarzabal, M Llorente, Saul Niguez, Soler, Ceballos, Asensio, Denis Suarez, Deulofeu, Williams, Sandro, Borja Mayoral
