David Moyes has revealed his message to Jarrad Branthwaite after being snubbed by England.
The Everton defender was overlooked for Thomas Tuchel’s maiden squad which will take on Albania and Latvia in this month’s World Cup qualifiers.
Instead, Branthwaite will link up with ex-Blues midfielder Lee Carsley, who has drafted him for the under-21s side for friendlies with France and Portugal.
And Moyes has challenged the 22-year-old to use his latest involvement to catapult himself into Tuchel’s thinking as he seeks to earn more senior caps.
He said: “I don’t pick the England squad, so I can only say if you’re looking at the last six or seven weeks Jarrad Branthwaite would be up there playing as well as any English centre-half in the country.
“But the big thing he needs to do [is] go and play for England Under-21s and be the best player again, and then he gets selected again.
“That’s the instructions I’ve been giving him – go and show what you can do for the 21s and Lee Carsley will pass good information back to the manager and hopefully it will get you back in.
“He doesn’t need picking up because he’s a young centre-half at the moment.
“You’ve got to learn your trade, keep improving, and I told him go and play really well for the Under-21s and show Thomas he should have taken you into the squad.”