Harvey Barnes is looking to cap off his breakthrough season at domestic level with international honours at the U21 EURO Finals.
The Leicester City midfielder is in the England squad who head to Italy on Friday with ambitions of bringing home the title.
Barnes enjoyed an impressive campaign, with a goal-laden loan spell at West Bromwich Albion in the first half of the season before establishing himself in the Leicester squad after returning to the King Power Stadium.
And those performances saw him become a regular in Aidy Boothroyd’s squad as the Young Lions qualified for the Finals and began their preparations for the Finals.
“I think for me it has been a successful season,” reflected Barnes.
“I’ve been happy with how it’s gone and now we have the international side, which is great for me, and we have massive tournament coming up.
“It was definitely a target in the back of my head and I knew if I was performing at my club then there would be a chance I’d be coming here. I’m just delighted to have been chosen.”
The squad have spent the last few weeks working at St. George’s Park in preparation for the tournament, which kicks-off for England when they play France in Cesena on Tuesday 18 June.
And Barnes says competition for places is high, with everyone vying for a spot in the line-up as Aidy Boothroyd plots for success.
“Every team wants to go and win it, but for us the main focus is the first three games and making sure the performances and results are right,” explained Barnes.
“With so many games in the tournament, there is bound to be a lot of changes.
“It’s important that everyone has the mind-set that at any game at any point, they could play. It is definitely something that has been spoken about and put across to everyone.”
As the squad fly out to Italy on Friday, all eyes are now on the encounter with France and an opportunity for both nations to showcase their abilities.
And while many will claim it’s a game which pits two of the tournament favourites together, Barnes and his team-mates are only focusing on one thing.
“I don’t think you can base the group stages on one game because you never know what other results are going to happen,” he said.
“I think if you are going to say that we are one of the favourites, then they will be one of the favourites as well.
“We will both be looking at that game knowing the result is going to be important. We’re going into that game being positive and hoping to win it, of course.”
You can watch all of the U21 EURO games live on Sky Sports in the UK. Fancy a trip to Italy for the games? Find out how you can still buy tickets.
