SOUTHEND United’s young stars will be rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite this weekend.

For the Shrimpers are sending an under 17 side to a tournament which is being held in Lille, France.

They will be up against the likes of Valencia, FC Porto and FC Copenhagen.

“The people that we have been dealing with to help set this up think that it’s the strongest event for this age-group in the whole of Europe this summer, so it’s great that Southend United are going to be taking part,” said the club’s centre of excellence manager Luke Hobbs.

“Next year’s selection of first year scholars will be making the trip over to France with Ricky Duncan (youth team manager) and myself and it will be an excellent learning experience for them.”

Blues have yet to discover the exact format of the competition but are sure to be handed a number of stern tests.

Hobbs is welcoming those challenges though and believes the invitation is another indication of the progress the Shrimpers are making at youth team level.

“The English team who were originally down to take part was Watford but they had to pull out and when that happened the organisers came to us,” added Hobbs.

“It shows that we are highly regarded now and it is something else we should really be proud of.”

The Blues youngsters will go onto the tournament full of confidence after winning the Youth Alliance League at under 18 level last term.

The club’s under 15 team are also soon set to go on tour as they will take place in a competition in Holland which features a number of top Dutch sides including FC Twente.