Patrick Bamford insisted he never gave up hope he would finally earn an England call.
The Leeds striker has been included in the Three Lions’ squad for the first time for the World Cup qualifiers with Hungary, Andorra and Poland.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s withdrawal through injury means Bamford and Harry Kane are the only two recognised forwards in Gareth Southgate’s squad.
Bamford never played a game for Chelsea during five years at Stamford Bridge and spent time on loan at MK Dons, Norwich, Burnley, Middlesbrough, Derby and Palace before joining Boro permanently in 2017. However, he always believed he would make it with England.
The former Nottingham Forest youngster scored his first goal of the season in Leeds’ 1-1 draw at Burnley on Sunday, having netted 17 times last term, and credits boss Marcelo Bielsa with helping turn him into a leading top-flight striker.
“He’s not said too much, he wanted to keep me level-headed and working hard,” he said.
“After the (Burnley) game he saw me talking to my mum and dad and congratulated them and said to enjoy it. He’s not one to make a massive fuss over it.
“The imprint he has had on my game is massive. He has improved me no end. He is very meticulous with details and always wants you to improve. It’s a perfect match because I want to keep getting better and better.”
Bamford’s international career could have been very different had he opted to represent the Republic of Ireland – something he decided against for unselfish reasons.
Asked about the possiblity of changing allegiance, he replied: “There was a point when, during my first season at Leeds, where he (Mick McCarthy) did get in touch.
“I had a knee injury so I was more focused on getting fit and making sure I could play the rest of the season for Leeds.
“But, also, I felt because my heart had been committed to playing for England, and I had always dreamt of that, I felt it would be wrong to then play for Ireland to go and play international football just because they had asked me.
“If I did that, I might have kept someone out of that team whose dream was to play for Ireland. I didn’t think that would be fair. I had to stay true to myself, worked hard and try to reach my dreams to make them happen.
“I just think that if I went and played for Ireland just in order to play international football, when my dream as a little kid was always to play for England and somebody else’s dream might have been to always play for Ireland, and then I ended up taking that slot just because I felt like the England one might never come and it might be, without being disrespectful, the easy option because it’s been offered to me, then I don’t think that’s the right thing to do.”
