Bellingham was named in England’s squad for the tournament in Switzerland, which begins next Wednesday, earlier today. However, it remains unclear who he will be playing for when the tournament begins, or whether he will be available to line up for the Three Lions.
The 19-year-old is the subject of ongoing transfer discussions between Sunderland and Borussia Dortmund, with the German club keen to sign Bellingham but unwilling to pay the €40m release clause that would automatically trigger a transfer.
While Sunderland would ideally like to keep Bellingham following their promotion to the Premier League, the midfielder has expressed a desire to follow in the footsteps of his elder brother, Jude, and head to Signal Iduna Park.
Ideally, Dortmund want to complete a deal ahead of next Tuesday’s early-summer transfer deadline as that would enable them to include Bellingham in their squad for the Club World Cup in the United States.
If Bellingham was to play in that tournament, he would not be available for the Under-21 Euros, and while Carsley can make changes to his initial squad until England play their opening game against Czechia next Thursday, his selection will be locked in from that point onwards.
“The FIFA window closes on the 10th of June, so we just have to make sure that we’re flexible, similar to what we’ve done with all of the players,” said Carsley. “We’re here to support them, make sure we help them as much as we can. Jobe is an important part of our squad and will be travelling with us.”
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Carsley has already lost one of his star players, with Liam Delap’s £30m move to Chelsea meaning he will now be playing for the Blues at the Club World Cup instead of representing his country.
“I’m definitely not disappointed,” said Carsley. “I’m delighted for Liam and his family. It’s a brilliant thing for an English centre-forward to play in the Premier League at such a prestigious club like Chelsea.
“Hopefully, he’ll do really well there and push for the senior team. We’ll move on. We’ve moved on quite quickly. We’ve always known that two or three of the players could move to clubs that were playing in the Club World Cup.
“The Club World Cup hasn’t come out of the blue. We’ve been preparing for this competition for two years, knowing that the Club World Cup was always in the background.
“It’s not frustrating one bit. I definitely still see the importance of some of our players that will play in that competition. It’s a brilliant thing for them to do.”
