Alfie Mawson has admitted that he has made it his target to one day captain the England senior side following his impressive breakthrough at Under-21s level.
The Swansea City defender has been one of the standout performers at the U21 Euro 2017 tournament in Poland, where the Young Lions face a tough semi-final with Germany on Tuesday evening.
Mawson has vowed to "stay humble" in his pursuit of skippering both club and country in the coming years, having spent his younger days working on a fruit and veg stall with his father before being handed his big chance in football.
"My dad Gary has the fruit stall and helping was a standard thing," he told reporters. "I was always helping out as a kid and loved it. The work ethic helps you on to greater things but you have to stay humble no matter how far you get.
"I am busy now on Saturdays. It has been a whirlwind, up and down season, in which I was thrust from the Championship to the big league, and getting this England opportunity.
"One day I would like to be club captain and, if that meant going on to national level, it'd be a dream. For now, I take everything in my stride. Ask me a year ago if I'd be taking part in the semi-final of a major competition and I would never have imagined it."
Mawson spent one season with Barnsley before being poached by Swansea last summer, going on to make 27 appearances in his maiden top-flight campaign.
Daniel Lewis
