Jordan Spence is set to line up for England tonight in the first of three hugely important qualifying matches for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
The defender, who only turned 19 on Sunday, has enjoyed a season to remember and is looking to sign off in style by helping the Young Lions reach July's eight-nation finals in Ukraine. Spence began the season on the first team's pre-season tour and also had a taste of being on the bench for the start of the Premier League season. He then went on loan to Leyton Orient and hugely impressed in his 20 appearances.
He returned to Chadwell Heath for the final fortnight of the campaign which allowed Gianfranco Zola to put him through his paces. Spence then joined up with England for this week's mini-tournament in Yorkshire that also features Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovakia and Scotland. The first match is against Bosnia in Doncaster this evening before a duel with Slovakia in Bradford on Friday and a potentially decisive fixture against the Scots next Monday in Sheffield.
"This is a big tournament to play in. There will be some talented players to play against and also alongside so it is great for me," said Spence, who quickly added he hoped international progress would help his club career. "My desire is to play in the first team. The sooner that happens the better, but I will continue to suck up all the experience and enjoy it because it is a great place to be."
Spence is no stranger to international football, having captained his country at Under-16, U17 and U18 level - most memorably leading England to the last-16 of the 2007 FIFA U17 World Cup after scoring an added-time winner against Brazil. This season has seen him develop his game in a different direction with that lengthy loan spell at Leyton Orient - playing a major role as the O's surged clear of the relegation zone.
"In terms of my development, it has been a great season. I have had the opportunity to be more involved with the senior squad. I have been able to travel and went on the pre-season tour and also seen what it is like on a Premier League afternoon. I have also had the opportunity to play week in, week out at Orient and see what it is like to play every Saturday and every Tuesday.
"It has been good playing regularly. It has been a learning curve. We were in an a precarious position when I arrived but it has also been fantastic seeing the flip side of that in getting out of it and getting on a winning run. There were some good players and experienced heads who helped me through the initial stages. I felt I learnt a lot and bounced ideas off them.
"I played predominantly at centre-half, which was a great experience. I played a couple of times at full-back. It was fantastic to play against some decent strikers in that league who were certainly more physical and direct. Adjusting to that was always going to be a challenge."
Spence relishes testing himself and looks set to push on in the 2009/10 campaign when he is aiming to force his way into Zola's thinking. He is encouraged by the fact eight of his fellow Academy alumni have played in the senior set-up in the season just gone. "God willing I will get my opportunity to play in the first team but I know my development is such, physically and mentally, that we all differ. When the oppoturnity does arise I hope I take it."