Demarai Gray is hoping to take confidence from his man-of-the-match performance for England Under-21s to make the breakthrough with Leicester City.
The 19-year-old caught the eye on his debut for Gareth Southgate’s side in their 1-1 draw with Switzerland last weekend.
With his direct dribbling and eye-catching skills, the former Birmingham City youngster was the pick of the performers and set up England’s goal for Chuba Akpom following a strong run and cross.
Gray was a constant menace to the Swiss defence during England's 1-1 draw in Thun
And he’s now hoping to take that momentum back with him to the King Power Stadium and help the Foxes in their challenge to win the Premier League title.
"I was happy with my performance, obviously my job is to get goals and assists from my position so, yes, it’s a positive performance from myself," revealed Gray, after the game in Thun last Saturday.
"I am still 19 and that is everyone’s dream, to play for the national team.
"All I can do is come here with the U21s, play the best I can and hopefully start playing in the Premier League and take my chances."
Gray only joined Claudio Ranieri’s side from hometown club Birmingham in January and with Leicester performing so well in their title chase, he has found his opportunities limited.
But he’s enjoyed his time in the East Midlands and knows that playing well for both club and country can only work in his favour.
"It’s been good, obviously with the move to Leicester, the team’s doing well there," he added.
"I haven’t played as much, but you know it’s another team thing there, the togetherness there as well as here in the squad [with the England U21s] is good.
Watch Demarai Gray's run and cross to set up England's goal in Thun
"I need to take my opportunities and I know the England manager is always watching and I have just got to keep doing what I am doing and stay patient.
"But I am happy with how it’s going so far."
The trip to Switzerland was only Gray’s second time with the U21s squad, having previously impressed with the U20s earlier in the season.
He’d also featured for the Young Lions at U16, U17 and U19 level, so was already well established in the international set-up.
And he says that prior experience helped him to make the step up into Southgate’s group as they target qualification for next year’s Euro U21 Finals in Poland.
"I knew a few of the lads already and the rest of the lads, everyone’s good and everyone gets along," he revealed.
"So everyone has helped me settle in well and obviously that will help my performance on the pitch.
Chuba Akpom and Demarai Gray take FATV's Keepy Uppy challenge
"It’s a positive going back with a point, we were away from home and we are still on top [of the group table], so yes we were happy with our performance and we could have got more out of the game.
"It’s unfortunate but, you know, we have to learn for next time."
Southgate’s squad will next be in action when they travel to southern France for the Toulon Tournament between 18 and 29 May and their next Euro Qualifier will be against Norway next September.
