Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson says he is ready to seize his opportunity at international level with England. Wilson has been an impressive performer with Bournemouth over recent seasons and that has allowed him to quietly establish himself as a regular in the England set-up, with his latest call-up meaning he has now been included in five successive squads.
The form of captain Harry Kane means the 27-year-old has only won three caps during that time, but he is happy to adopt a patient approach as he bids to seize his chance on the international stage. “When I get here – train well, wait for my opportunity, be patient,” Wilson said.
“Harry is a great player. “I’m not saying I want to kick him out of the team, but with injuries, things that happen along the way, you have to be ready to grasp the opportunity, whether it is one minute, 20 minutes, the opening whistle.”
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Wilson has certainly worked his way up the hard way, spending time on loan at non-league sides such as Kettering and Tamworth before establishing himself at hometown club Coventry.
The forward then earned a move to Bournemouth in 2014 and he has flourished since helping the Cherries earn promotion to the Premier League, scoring 14 goals in the top-flight last season, while he already has five to his name this term.
While becoming an England regular at the expense of Kane seems unlikely at this stage, Wilson, who scored on his international debut against the United States last year, feels his grounding in non-league football will stand him in good stead. “I was playing on loan at Kettering and Tamworth, and I said I will play for England one day,” he added.
“Everyone calls me self-confident. If you don’t believe you can get somewhere you will never get there, that was always the aim to play for the national team, to play in the Premier League.”
Wilson will be hoping to play some part for England during their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
Gareth Southgate’s side first head to Prague to take on the Czechs on Friday before tackling Bulgaria in Sofia three days later.
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