Rafa Benitez says Andros Townsend dreams of playing for England again
Andros Townsend joined Everton as a free agent during the week on a two-year deal, and the veteran attacking midfielder dreams of playing for England again.
Toffees manager Rafa Benitez revealed to Everton TV that the 30-year-old had three options before opting to move to Goodison Park.
Townsend is looking to prove that he still has what it takes to impress in the Premier League, and is eyeing a return to the Three Lions.
Benitez told Everton TV: “He was very ambitious when I was talking with him. He had a couple of three options to be fair, and he was waiting, and he said “I’d like to stay in the Premier League, Everton is a great challenge for me, and I want to go back into the national team if it’s possible”, so he was just thinking he could improve, give us something and play better football.
“So that’s very positive for us. To have someone with that experience at the moment, and he wants to improve, he wants to be better, and also he wants to come here, and that’s really important.”
Massive aspirations
Townsend made his debut for England in 2013 while at Tottenham Hotspur, and last played for the country in 2016.
The winger scored thrice in 13 caps for the Three Lions, and we love the fact that he dreams of playing at the World Cup next year.
It is a huge dream, and it would only come true if he plays regularly for Everton during the 2021-22 Premier League campaign and makes a lot of impact in the final third.
England manager Gareth Southgate has a lot of attacking options at his disposal, and the wide areas are the most competitive when it comes to making selections.
The likes of Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka lit up the European Championship with their brilliance, with Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford having to make do with appearances off the bench.
Some top players were left at home, and everybody will be entering into next season with an eye on a World Cup spot.
Townsend will have the same thing on his mind, and we believe that is good for the Toffees.
He is determined to prove to Southgate he still has what it takes to play for England, and Benitez stands to gain a lot if he does manage to hit the ground running in the new season.
Townsend is setting a huge target for himself, and we are eagerly anticipating his Everton debut and performances for the season.
In other Everton news, Toffees are set to launch bid for 15-cap int’l star who blew Ian Wright away v Liverpool.
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