Lutonian James Justin could make his England U21 debut tonight as the wait goes on for his Leicester bow – but Hatters midfielder Andrew Shinnie is hoping for a Kenilworth Road return this month.
The full back, who has played for England U20s, signed for Leicester City in the summer, with Town commanding an undisclosed club record transfer fee for their academy product, who’d been named in the EFL Team of the Year.
Justin has yet to play a competitive minute for the Foxes, but still earned a place in Aidy Boothroyd’s Young Lions squad for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against Turkey and Kosovo.
Town midfielder Shinnie, who scored a stunning winner against Huddersfield on Saturday, said of the 21-year-old: “It’ll take him a bit of time to break into the (Leicester) team with good players and a good manager, so hopefully he plays in the cup.”
Luton were drawn at home to Leicester in the third round of the Carabao Cup with the tie to be played Tuesday September 24 and Shinnie added: “I get on really well with JJ. It’s great to see that draw. You’re always nervous with the draw to see who you’re going to get but I was happy it was a home tie because against Cardiff I got home at three in the morning on Wednesday.”
On the prospect of seeing Justin play on his former stomping ground, Shinnie said: “It would be good to watch him again and see him play, but I’m looking forward to that game.
“They (Leicester) played a strong team in the last round (against Newcastle) and I’m not sure if that’s because it was an all Premier League tie, but it’ll be interesting to see what team they play here.”
Last night, Luton loanee Luke Bolton made his England U20 debut in a 0-0 draw against Holland, while James Collins’ wait for a Republic of Ireland debut goes on after he was an unused substitute in their 1-1 Euro 2020 qualifying draw against Switzerland.
