England U21 boss Stuart Pearce is prepared to leave out his Premier League stars.

Chris Smalling, Jordan Henderson, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck, Fabrice Muamba and injured Micah Richards will all miss Monday's friendly against Iceland at Preston. Pearce agreed a deal with their bosses to only play them in Thursday's friendly in Denmark, which the Young Lions won 4-0.

Pearce hopes those managers will not stand in his way when it comes to him selecting them for his squad for this summer's Under-21 Euro finals in Denmark.

He said: "If I was going to be selfish, I might have kept them until Monday night. But I've also got an eye for the players' welfare as well as the clubs.

"Come the summer, though, I expect some payback from everybody in respect to me taking the strongest squad to Denmark."

Pearce is on collision course with several bosses after admitting he wants to take the likes of Arsenal's Jack Wilshere and Liverpool's Andy Carroll.

He said: "I have to try and fight my corner. My over-riding ambition is to win a trophy for the nation I've represented."