‘Why not?’ – Hodgson sets England call-up aim for Palace attacker

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson believes that Eberechi Eze should make it his ambition to earn a call-up for Gareth Southgate’s England side.

The Greenwich-born playmaker scored a second-half brace for the Eagles against Southampton on Saturday to secure a 2-0 win for Hodgson’s side.

The 24-year-old was set to be named in Southgate’s 33-man provisional squad for Euro 2020 before he suffered an Achilles injury.

Eze, who can also represent Nigeria, has four goal involvements in three games since ex-England boss Hodgson returned to Selhurst Park.

“Yes. Why not?” said Hodgson of Eze having the potential to reach the international stage.

“I never push in press conferences or say: ‘This player who is playing in the team that I am coaching is so good that he should be playing for England.’

“The people watching for Gareth Southgate at the moment will be making their assessments – they don’t need any help or advice from me on that subject.

“If you are talking about a player’s ambition, with as young as he is, a massive possibility for him to keep improving and doing well with every Premier League game he plays, if I was him, I would be saying: ‘I’m so good, that I’m going to make that my ambition’.

“The only way he will do that is by producing more of these performances and hoping that Gareth and Steve Holland [Southagte’s assistant] watch him and come to the same conclusion that this is a guy who can help us out.”