Steve Cooper not worried over Jadon Sancho withdrawal

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Bengaluru, October 10: England Under-17s head coach Steve Cooper has stated that he currently doesn't think beyond the group stage matches in the midst of speculations surrounding their star man Jadon Sancho who might pull out from the squad after the group matches.

The Three Lions squad is boosted by promising academy youngsters from top European clubs and one big names among the squad is Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund.

The promising youngster recently made a move to Bundesliga side for a reported €7 million on the final day of the summer transfer window declining offers from Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Chelsea.

The Three Lions World Cup dream rely heavily on the shoulder of the winger and the 17-year-old has already lived up to the hype, the youngster displayed a man of the match performance with two goals and one assist in the very first match of group stage.

However, the 17-year will miss the latter stages of the tournament should England qualify as the Three Lions could only secure his release from Borussia Dortmund for the group stages only.

And while talking about the possible departure of the star player, the England U17 coach suggested that they are not thinking about anything beyond the group stage and will only target the next round's birth right now.

Cooper told the reporters: "All of are here for the group stage at the moment. We need to qualify [for the knockout round] first. We are not thinking of anything else until we get out of the group stage.

"Nobody's going to get carried away with the win. Now we need to get the plan right for another really good test and recover well. It would be naive to look beyond the group stage now," Cooper said after their convincing result."

England will play Mexico U-17 in their next match on Wednesday (October 11) and a win will likely secure their place in the next stage of the tournament.