Since bursting onto the first team scene for Derby County in 2012, academy graduate Will Hughes has been pretty much a mainstay in England’s Under-21 set-up too.
Second to only Theo Walcott as the youngest to feature for the Three Lions at Under-21 level, Hughes has racked up just under an impressive 20 appearances, but even now the emphasis for the midfielder is the same as it was four years ago.
“I want to win,” Hughes told RamsTV ahead of the UEFA Under-21 European Championship finals. “It really is as simple as that.”
“It is always important to do well. There is always a focus on English teams at major tournaments to do well and previously we haven’t delivered but hopefully this time around we can put an end to that.
“It goes without saying that there are going to be strong teams in the tournament.
“On paper, our group seems like the easier one, whether or not that is a good thing, we will see later on but we are definitely confident going into things.”
Ultimately, though, desire is one thing whilst to do is another and England’s start to the competition on Friday 16th June (6pm BST) could not be tougher with the Lions set to take on the current holders of the Championship in Sweden.
Drawn to Group A, England will then face Slovakia on Monday 19th June (6pm BST) before their final group fixture against host side Poland on Thursday 22nd June (8:45pm BST).
But for Hughes, it is all about experience and he feels that his side have that in abundance going into the highly competitive tournament.
Hughes added: “The competition in the squad is very healthy. You’ve only got to look at the experience that the squad have gained between them throughout the years.
“I think this is Nathaniel Chalobah's third tournament at this level so the experience here is brilliant and the standard is very high. We want to push each other on and because of that, whoever plays in midfield will do a good job.
“In any tournament, the experience is always going to help. You only have to look at players like James Ward-Prowse who has come on leaps and bounds over the last few years and now he is a mainstay in a Premier League team.”