A product of the successful Southampton youth academy, midfielder James was first capped by England at U17 level when he featured in the Nordic Tournament of 2010 under Kenny Swain before travelling to the Algarve Tournament in February 2011 under John Peacock where he added to his caps.
He was then called into the U19s squad by Head Coach Noel Blake after continuing his development at St.Mary's and progressing into the first team on the South Coast.
After captaining England U19s in 2013, he was then elevated into Peter Taylor's U20 squad for the FIFA World Cup in 2013.