England Manager to spend time with U17s ahead of meeting with Italy in Burton.

Roy Hodgson will head to St. George's Park on Wednesday to spend some time with the England U17s as they prepare for a game against Italy at Burton Albion later that night.

Speaking at a 'Road to Brazil' event for England Lead Sponsors Vauxhall on Friday, the Three Lions Manager confirmed that he'll pay a visit to the 330-acre National Football Centre in Staffordshire, which will soon become his team's training base.

John Peacock's side are the first England side to be utilise the excellent facilities on offer at St. George's Park as the gear up for the SGP Tournament, an annual four-team competition which this year also sees Turkey and Portugal taking part.

And Hodgson is looking forward to his trip north, which will also incorporate the Young Lions meeting with the Italians.

“With the opening of St. George’s Park fast approaching, it is a fantastic opportunity for our U17s team to be the very first squad to stay and train at the National Football Centre," he said. 

“This year we will be hosting some renowned football nations in Italy, Portugal and Turkey, enabling all four teams to interact with each other and experience the world class facilities we have on offer at St. George’s Park for our annual U17s friendly tournament."

He added: “It’s a real milestone for English football in this country to have a facility like St. George’s Park and it gives our development teams a chance to progress and learn in a world class environment."

Hodgson also revealed that he plans to take a hands-on role when SGP becomes fully operational as a home to not only the 24 England teams, but to The FA's Football Development arm which will host to all national coaching courses.

"A lot of our coaching courses of all levels will be held at St. George’s Park and I’m expecting to be involved in that," he added.

"I think there’ll be lots of opportunities for us really if you’re prepared to do more than just coach the first national team. There’s lots of work you can do, lots of influence you can have with the lower age groups and not least of all with the coaching set-up in the country as well."

For now, with the U17s SGP Tournament kicking off on Wednesday night, followed by games on Friday and Sunday at Burton's Pirelli Stadium and Northampton Town, fans will have the chance to see some future England hopefuls in action. 

Hodgson added: “Over the years, this friendly tournament has been a good breeding ground for England players in the past with the likes of Theo Walcott, James Milner and Jack Butland all featuring at this level.

“It’s a great chance for the people of Burton and Northampton to come out and support the youngsters and watch some International football on their doorstep. I am personally really looking forward to the matches and will be present at the game on Wednesday.”

Tickets to see the U17s at Burton or Northampton are just £3 for adults, £1 for concessions. Click here for full details on how to secure your seats.