Andros Townsend has enlisted the help of England striker coach Allan Russell in an effort to gatecrash Gareth Southgate's Euro 2020 plans.
The Crystal Palace winger has booked in summer sessions with the striker specialist ahead of rejoining Roy Hodgson's squad for pre-season at the start of next month.
Ahead of every pre-season Townsend seeks advice from various conditioning and footballing experts to ensure he is in peak shape going into the start of each campaign.
And Townsend is working with Russell, who is a key part of Southgate's backroom team, in a bid to ensure he is well-placed to improve on last season's goal tally of nine.
Away from his work with the England national team, Russell heads up a company called Superior Striker – which claims to be the world's No 1 striker training programme.
The success of the company is a key reason why he is not a full-time employee of the Football Association.
As well as his work with England's players, he has held one-on-one sessions with the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Marcus Rashford in the past.
Townsend has also worked with Russell prior to his current sessions.
And Townsend hopes Russell can help propel him back into the international fold next season.
Sportsmail understands Southgate considered handing Townsend a recall for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Czech Republic and Montenegro in March.
Russell is known for his meticulous forward drills, his attention to detail during coaching sessions one of the key reasons behind Southgate's decision to integrate him into his backroom team.
He also refreshes his sessions and drills to ensure players do not find them mundane.
And the fact Harry Kane won the World Cup golden boot last summer is testament to Russell's work with England.
