Gareth Southgate has praised Mason Mount and credited his England call-up to years of improvement.
The Chelsea prospect is in line to receive his England cap during the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo after an impressive start to the season for Frank Lampard's side.
However despite his form for the Blues, the England manager was keen to emphasise that his decision to call up the midfielder is down to his progress over the last four years.
He said: "I think Mason Mount has been one of the outstanding players in the league already this season.
"In Mason's case he's here on merit. It's as simple as that.
"He looks like threatening the goal every game that he plays.
"I've watched him develop through our youth teams since he was 16 and he's an outstanding player at every age group.
"He's not in on the back of three games at Chelsea, he's in after a year in the Eredivisie which was outstanding, he had a very successful year with Derby, European under-19 champion with us, so he keeps improving and achieving at every level he's tested at.
"That's the same for the beginning of this season."
