Frank Lampard has challenged Mason Mount to surpass his haul of England caps, the on-loan Derby County midfielder revealed.
Mount has had a rapid rise to the senior squad having only made his debut for the Three Lions' Under-21 side last month.
The midfielder has impressed during his loan stay at Derby from Chelsea thus far, scoring three times in 12 Championship appearances under the tutelage of Rams boss Lampard.
And Mount, who used to have Lampard's name printed on the back of his replica Chelsea jersey growing up, spoke of how his club boss told him to surpass his tally of 106 international caps.
"At first he said he was thinking of looking to drop me for the next game, and maybe give me a rest," Mount said.
"But then he smiled and said, 'no I've just spoken to Gareth [Southgate], you've been selected for the seniors'.
"He's obviously got over 100 caps so he said to see if I can break that. He's given me loads of advice so far and I'm just trying to take it all in.
"It's a long season so I'm going to learn so much off him. If I can achieve half of what he has I will be very happy."
One day closer to matchday... October 10, 2018
Mount was given a taste of the senior set-up when invited to train with England's first team before the World Cup and he admits being with the full side has not quite sunk in.
He added: "It is a very surreal feeling coming into the senior squad.
"As a young kid, I always remember being a youngster looking up to players like Wayne Rooney, Frank and David Beckham.
"Training for four days before the World Cup made me hungrier to get into the squad. Maybe the opportunity at Chelsea wasn't there so I had to get out on loan and obviously with the gaffer and Jody [Morris] there, there was an opportunity for me to play quite a few games.
"That was the decision I made at that time but obviously me being chosen for the England senior team was a surprise for me as I'm playing in the Championship."
