Phil Foden singled out former Manchester City teammate Jadon Sancho as the England star he is most looking forward to playing alongside with England.
Gareth Southgate has handed Foden his first call-up to the senior squad, with games coming up against Iceland and Denmark coming up in the next week.
There is already expectation on the 20-year-old given his promise at the Etihad and early development under Pep Guardiola, with some particularly promising performances in the final months of last season.
Foden's promotion to the England set-up brings him into the same squad as Sancho, who he played alongside in the City academy for two years. The two have often been pitted as different sides of the same coin, with one patiently waiting for a first team breakthrough at the club and the other moving to Dortmund in search of a faster path to the top.
Each player has made their choice work for them, and as they are reunited after three years apart Foden had kind words for Sancho.
"Everyone has so much quality," he said. "It will be nice to play with Jadon again because I used to play with him in the youth team so it will be nice to play with him again.
"Everyone wants the shirt in the England team and there are a lot of players that haven't been picked this time but maybe get picked next time. It just shows that everyone is fighting for their place. It's healthy competition that can only make England better so it's a good thing for England, can only be a good thing really.
"I used to think of myself in the team so now to be here it's a real moment. I'm just hoping I can get the chance to play and the dream will come true.
"I played at many levels for England, probably every age group. To get the senior call-up now is massive for me and my family. But also there's a few new lads as well that it's their first time here so I'm really proud to share that with them and just see how happy they are to be here as well as me.
"I'm just enjoying it, trying to take in what Gareth is saying and learn fast and get with the speed of the team."
