Tottenham forward Dominic Solanke says he never gave up on returning to the England fold after he was named in the squad for the first time in seven years.
Solanke won his only England cap to date in a friendly against Brazil in 2017 but was afterwards overlooked by former manager Gareth Southgate, despite scoring 19 goals in the Premier League for Bournemouth last season.
The 27-year-old joined Spurs in a £55million deal in the summer and has been rewarded for a bright start in north London with a place in interim head coach Lee Carsley's squad for this week's Nations League matches against Greece and Finland.
"I didn’t think it wouldn’t come around, it was just keep doing what I am doing, keep playing well and scoring goals and I always believed i would be back here," Solanke said.
"That was my mindset, and that is one of things I was working towards. I am thankful to be back here now and hopefully I can stay here.
"It means so much. I have worked very hard to get back to this moment. Obviously I made my debut a long time ago now, it has been quite a journey to get back here, but it is a great feeling for me and my family.
"I feel like when I first came [into the squad] I was quite young. I have done a lot of learning, a lot of developing and stuff. A lot more mature now and naturally I am going to be in a better position now I feel good in myself and just happy to be back here."
Solanke was in Hungary preparing for Spurs' Europa League game against Ferencvaros last week when he learned the news from Carsley, who the former Chelsea and Liverpool striker has previously worked with in England's Under-21 set up.
"It was Thursday, we had an away game so I was away, I was just chilling in bed preparing for the game," Solanke said.
"He dropped me a message to give him a call. It didn’t take me long to pick up the phone. I called him, I knew Cars from England Under-21 days.
"He’s a familiar face. He said he would put me back in and he’s been watching the games closely and seeing how I’ve been doing. He said he wanted to give me the opportunity to come back into the fold.
"He’s a great guy, a great coach as well. I’ve known him for many years now and all the boys get on well with him. It’s a great group, great players and staff. So it’s a great environment to be in."
With England captain Harry Kane a doubt to face Greece on Thursday night and training alone indoors on Tuesday, Solanke has a fine chance of featuring at Wembley.
"That is what the dream is - to represent your country," he said. "No matter how many times, it is always the same, hopefully I can get some minutes. I am just happy to be here and to help the team.
"I’ve still got my shirt [from the Brazil game] framed in my house. It’s one of the greatest achievements in my career. From when you’re young and just playing football, obviously you want to make it but representing your country is a whole another level. So I’m still grateful for that moment until this day."
Solanke was injured on his Spurs debut at Leicester in August and missed the next two games but he has hit his stride in the last fortnight, scoring in three consecutive matches before making both their goals in Sunday's shock 3-2 defeat to Brighton.
"It was a bit frustrating that I got injured when I first joined Spurs, I feel good and I fit now and ready," he said. "We have a lot of games this season and hopefully I can stay fit and carry on with how I have started.
"[Ange Postecoglou] is a great manager, one of the reasons I was so keen to join Tottenham. The way he plays definitely suits my style as well so it's like for like. Obviously it's very aggressive, on the front foot, very high, which I enjoy doing. I enjoy pressing. It's a great fit."
