Leicester City attacker James Maddison has said that he is honoured to make the England senior squad for the very first time. The 21-year-old has been a revelation for the Foxes since making the move from Norwich City during the summer and he is now looking forward to making an impact with the Three Lions without dropping out of the setup.

Speaking to reporters, he said: “I know I have been playing well for Leicester. I’ve played all the games in the Premier League this season and we’ve had a relatively good start but you can never expect it [England call up] I don’t think.

It is such a big honour to play for England and get the call from Gareth. We have been given this opportunity to show what we are about. Me, Mason [Mount, Derby] and Jadon [Sancho, Dortmund] as young lads. If it was up to me I’d never go back to the Under-21s because this is where every young boy dreams of being.”

Alongside Maddison, the likes of Jadon Sancho and Mason Mount were also handed their maiden call-ups after impressing for Borussia Dortmund and Derby County respectively and the attacking trident could feature during the upcoming Nations League games against Croatia and Spain where England are expected to be without key performers.

Both “, Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli have been excluded for the current England squad with injuries sustained “with Manchester United and“, Tottenham Hotspur respectively and “this may offer a route for some of the untried personnel. Aside from the above-mentioned trio, Chelsea’s Ross Barkley has been another who has earned a long-awaited call-up after a lengthy 18-month period and the quartet could offer the added creativity which Southgate has been yearning for.

England opened their Nations League campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Spain at the Wembley Stadium. The result sees them second on the standings ahead of Croatia, who were humbled by a 6-0 scoreline by La Roja during the same international break.