Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley believes he's now firmly establishing himself as a top class player.

Barkley is floating after his two goals in England's win in Montenegro.

"I never ever thought I would not play for my country," said Barkley. "We all go through difficult spells. I have turned 25 and coming into my own and focused on improving at day-to-day level. Hopefully I will continue to thrive. We can all improve.

"We are not in the game to accept where we are at. We have to improve at club level - and at international level there is a lot of room for improvement. You see how the young players have performed and how good they are. Declan Rice, Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

"All week they have been frightening in training and the future is bright. It was my best performance for England. I came up with the two goals and had a hand in a couple of the goals but the main thing was come to here and put in a positive performance."