In Focus: Eberechi's call-up an Eze decision for Southgate

After an impressive start to the season for Crystal Palace, Eberechi Eze will now look to make his mark for England.

The Eagles playmaker, 25, was selected in Gareth Southgate's Three Lions squad for the second consecutive time after making his senior bow against Malta in June.

As he looks to add to his solitary cap in England's Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine on Saturday, we turn the spotlight on the London-born star.

Roy better know

The news that Roy Hodgson would be staying at Selhurst Park for another season may well have been greeted more enthusiastically by Eze than any other Palace player.

After a period out of the team under predecessor Patrick Vieira last season, the ex-QPR youngster came to the fore again when the veteran manager returned to the club in March.

With just four goals in his first 28 Premier League games of the campaign, the talented midfielder bagged six in the final 10 matches to steer Palace clear of relegation.

On getting the best out of the England star, Hodgson recently told Sky Sports: "All we can do is give Ebere a platform to play the sort of football he does.

"Get the balls into him in areas and situations where he can use his talent to the fore. Everything else is up to him. If we can do that, then we can profit from that."

Eze's key role in Hodgson's set-up is further illustrated by the fact only defenders Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen have taken more touches for Palace than Eze this season (259).

King of the Palace

The work the 76-year-old has done in improving Eze's fortunes is not lost on the player himself.

After winning his first England cap in June, he said: "I am very grateful to Roy and Ray [Lewington, assistant manager] for all they did helping me to regain form and put in performances.

"They helped me massively with my mental state as well so hugely grateful to them."

Losing club legend and captain Wilfried Zaha to Galatasaray was undoubtedly a huge blow for all associated with Palace this summer.

But they will reflect positively on their transfer window overall after keeping hold of Eze and fellow in-demand star Michael Olise.

Hodgson has labelled it as a "statement of intent" and the duo will now look to continue repaying the faith shown in them by the Palace boss.

Strong start

No player had taken more shots without scoring in the Premier League's opening three rounds than Eze (16) but he finally found the net at the perfect time in their thrilling 3-2 win over Wolves.

With the game tightly poised at 1-1, Eze latched onto a Jean-Philippe Mateta header to thread home in the 78th minute before Odsonne Edouard put the game beyond doubt six minutes later.

His stats for the season overall reveal it has been an encouraging start for the one-cap international.

No top-flight player has completed more take-ons than him (13) this term, with just four above him for chances created (13).

Though he only has one goal to his game, the 24-year-old's 19 shots taken are bettered only by Erling Haaland (20), so it is likely there is plenty more where Saturday's strike came from.

In Eze and a host of other talented creators, Southgate is not short of players capable of unlocking what could be a pair of stubborn defences in Ukraine and Scotland.