Vilahamn believes it's time for Clinton to Grace England's XI

Eleanor Crooks
Press Association
Grace Clinton is pushing hard for her England debut
Grace Clinton is pushing hard for her England debut

Tottenham boss Robert Vilahamn hopes Grace Clinton will be handed an international debut in England's forthcoming matches with Austria and Italy. 

The midfielder, 20, has starred for Spurs since joining on loan from Manchester United last summer and has been named in Sarina Wiegman's squad for the third time in a row. 

She has yet to make it onto the pitch, though, and Vilahamn said: "To be so consistently good shows how much she has grown and how mature she is in her way of playing. 

"It also shows that Sarina believes in her. 

"I'm so happy for her because she works so hard every day. I hope she gets game time as well so she can show them how good she can be. 

"She's shining here and I know she has even more in her when she gets to the next step."

The Lionesses take on Austria on February 23 and Italy four days later. 

Tottenham, meanwhile, will hope to close the gap to the Women's Super League's top four on Sunday when they take on Aston Villa, who sit six points below them.

Villa have struggled to back up last season's impressive fifth-placed finish and will be without England star Rachel Daly, who was given a three-match ban for catching Bristol City captain Megan Connolly in the face with her arm two weeks ago. 

The incident was missed by the match officials but was caught on camera and Daly was subsequently charged. 

Boss Carla Ward said: "We accepted it, Rach accepted it. It's one of those things. 

"It's not something you usually see from Rach. 

"It's a huge, huge miss but we've got other players in the front line that can step up and they absolutely will. 

"Rach will be back in a couple of games, hopefully sharper than ever. 

"We need consistency. You would argue other moments in big games have gone unpunished and unnoticed — but that's for the authorities to discuss."

Villa could also be without Kenza Dali and Ebony Salmon but Danielle Turner is back in the squad for the trip to Brisbane Road. 

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Tottenham Hotspur WomenWomen's Super LeagueEngland W