Gareth Southgate has explained why he called Conor Gallagher up to the senior England squad, revealing that he has been "very impressed" with the midfielder's start to the season.
The Chelsea youngster has enjoyed a string of promising loan spells over the past few campaigns but he has pushed onto another level this time out with Crystal Palace.
Gallagher already has four goals for the season while he has also chipped in with a pair of assists. His recent displays were even enough to earn him a nomination for the PFA Vertu Motors Premier League Fans' Player of the Month for October.
Things got even better for Gallagher during the week when he received his maiden England call-up after Jack Grealish, Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling were all forced to withdraw from the initial squad.
Speaking before his side's final World Cup qualifier against San Marino on Monday, Southgate revealed his thinking behind the decision.
"We've been very impressed with him. We've tracked Conor for quite a long time; his loan spells at Charlton, at Swansea, at West Brom and now at Crystal Palace," he said.
"At each loan he's done extremely well and he's started the season very well with Palace. We talked about him when we named the original squad as someone we were keen to keep an eye on.
"I suppose it's one of the benefits of being at the Under-21s because it was an easy transition for us to bring him across. That's not to say he's only here because of that, he's here because he deserves to be here."
With the Three Lions short on numbers there is a good chance that Gallagher could cap off a fine start to the season with a first senior cap on Monday night. England require a draw against San Marino - the lowest-ranked FIFA nation in the world - to ensure progression to the World Cup next year.
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Source : 90min