'You never know' – Lennon not ruling out England call up

The winger is not holding his breath, but he is hopeful that a call might be forthcoming to invite him to play fixtures against Croatia and the USA

Aaron Lennon is hopeful that he caught the eye of England manager Gareth Southgate during Burnley’s 4-0 weekend victory over Bournemouth.

The former Tottenham winger has 21 caps for the Three Lions but it has been over five years since he was last involved in the set up.

However, he turned in a fine display at the weekend, scoring his first goal since August 2016 and providing a regular threat down the flank.

Article continues below

Editors' Picks

Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as league leaders Liverpool put on a five-star show Lukaku sends reminder that his Man Utd career is far from over

While he is not expecting an international call, the 31-year-old remains hopeful that it may come after the manager of the World Cup semi-finalists was on hand to watch his performance.

“It’s a long time since I played international football. You never know. But the only thing I am concentrating on is playing well for Burnley. Whatever happens, happens,” he said, considering the potential of facing Croatia, in a rematch of the World Cup semi-final in the Nations League, and the USA in a friendly.

Lennon has never been a prolific finisher, but even he admits that after a couple of years without finding the net, it was an issue that had started to weigh on him.

“It’s been preying on my mind to be honest. I should score more. I’ve had a few chances this season but it is great to get the goal.

“If you are playing every game you want to aim for double figures. But for me getting assists is just as important. It makes my day if the other lads score as well.

“It didn’t matter how we won. We knew it was just important to get back to winning ways. To win 4-0 was even better.

“We worked on it all week, getting back to basics, being on the front foot and doing what we do. From minute one we were in their faces and it has paid off for us.”

Lennon has never managed more than five goals in a Premier League season, reaching that mark with Everton in 2015-16 after doing so with Tottenham in the 2008-09 season.

Overall, in the Premier League, he has scored 34 goals from 351 appearances.