Everton defender Mason Holgate is hoping to continue his rapid progress by helping England Under-21s to glory at June’s European Championships.

The 20-year-old, signed from Barnsley in the summer of 2015, made his debut in a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in August.

He made 18 Premier League appearances over the course of the season, and is keeping his fingers crossed for a place in Aidy Boothroyd’s Young Lions squad for the tournament in Poland.

He also spoke of his delight at playing a substantial role in the first-team this season, and has vowed not to rest on his laurels.

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“I’m hoping to get called up for the Euros with England Under-21s, so hopefully it won’t be a massive [summer] break for me but we’ll see what happens,” he said.

“It’s a massive honour to represent your country, it’s something I dreamed of doing growing up. We’ve got a good team, we feel like we can do well and push for honours.

“When you look through all the age groups at England, there are a good few Everton lads with each team. It shows we’re doing well and we’re all happy to be getting chances.

“I’ve been really happy to be so involved this season, but it is only the start for me.

“I’m looking to improve and to progress more next season, so I’m more involved to the point where I’m consistently on the team sheet.”

There was little surprise that Leicester City forward Shinji Okazaki picked the Champions League campaign as his season highlight as a dramatic year for the Foxes drew to a close.

It’s been an up and down season for the Foxes who saw manager Claudio Ranieri sacked just months after leading the side to a miraculous Premier League title.

The trophy gave Leicester City a seeded position in the Champions League draw and they made full use of that by qualifying from their group in top spot.

But with City hovering around the relegation zone in the league, Ranieri was sacked after the first leg of their last 16 tie against Sevilla, which Leicester won to reach the quarter-finals.

(Photo credit: PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

The Foxes were eventually knocked out by Atletico Madrid and the Japanese striker feels the squad had been through the mill during a topsy-turvy season.

“The Champions League was our dream and we got through to the last eight which is special. This is Leicester’s football. Everyone saw this game in the Champions League,” he said.

“We are tired now because, three months ago, we were struggling so the atmosphere wasn’t good.  We stayed together and it was a good end to the season.”

Harry Kane’s goalscoring exploits haven’t just impressed fans and media – even team-mate Kieran Trippier is blown away by the striker.

Kane won the Premier League golden boot and plundered 35 goals in all competitions this season, despite battling injury for part of the campaign.

That came one year after the 23-year-old won his first golden boot with 25 strikes, and two seasons after his breakthrough 2014-15 campaign for Spurs which saw him hit the net on 31 occasions.

(Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)

And right-back Trippier, who supplied a fair share of assists for Kane this term, is just as in awe of Kane as any spectator.

“He’s unbelievable,” said Trippier. “When I first came to the club I knew what he was all about and it’s well-deserved when you look at how hard he works at the training ground.

“After training as well he stays behind, doing shooting practice all the time. He fully deserves his Golden Boot and hopefully he’ll get a third one next season!

“It’s been a fantastic season for us when you look at the points, the way we’ve played and our defensive record.

“We’ve had two great seasons on the bounce now and hopefully it will continue.”

Watford have no reason to apologise for their reputation of hiring and firing managers, according to chairman Scott Duxbury.

Walter Mazzarri departed Vicarage Road after just one season and takes the tally of managerial exits to six in three seasons.

But Duxbury defended the club’s policy and said that Watford were not happy with just surviving in the Premier League.

He said: “I don’t think we’re different in the sense that we simply have aspiration and ambition. I think there’s been certain pundits recently who said we should be happy just surviving with the crumbs from the Premier League table.

“I’m sorry, but we want more than just to survive. We want to be a club that is progressive and has ambition. You can see what we’ve done off the pitch with the stadium and development that we’re a club that works really hard to try and move forward.”

Picture: Getty

Duxbury refused to be drawn on whether Mazzarri had failed in his one season at the club – but
said that the next manager must be more in line with the club and the supporters.

He added: “Last year we had 45 points and we survived. This year we really hoped we would push on. We’re not saying we want to conquer the Premier League but we do want to be more than just surviving.

“For a variety of reasons, our goals and our philosophies weren’t aligned. So it’s time to move on and look in a different direction forward. But as I say, that doesn’t mean upheaval.

“Changing a head coach for us isn’t perhaps as dramatic and doesn’t have that upheaval that at other clubs it would. I still think commentators, pundits, still have a hard time to understand and evaluate how we operate.

“With Walter specifically, there’s been a lack of connection with our supporters, with the press and media.

“We’re looking for somebody who embodies the ethos of the club, who is the ultimate ambassador of the club who can communicate the development of this football club.”

Sam Allardyce admits he is not looking for another job after dramatically resigning five months into his stint as Crystal Palace manager.

Allardyce quit the south Londoners on Tuesday after successfully guiding them to Premier League safety, following taking the Selhurst Park reins from Alan Pardew in December.

In a statement, the 62-year-old expressed his gratitude to Palace for giving him the chance to rebuild his reputation after he was sacked as England manager.

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“I will always be grateful to Crystal Palace and [chairman] Steve Parish for giving me the opportunity to go out with my head held high having helped keep the club in the Premier League,” he said.

“I felt I needed another shot at being a Premier League manager and showing that I still had the ability to achieve something significant. As I said last weekend, Palace gave me the chance of rehabilitation.

“That’s why it’s hard walking away now. I think the club are heading in the right direction with a hugely supportive board of directors, a great squad of players and some of the most passionate fans I’ve ever met. It’s been a privilege to have worked here for the past five months.

“This is the right time for me. I have no ambitions to take another job, I simply want to be able to enjoy all the things you cannot really enjoy with the 24/7 demands of managing any football club, let alone one in the Premier League.”

Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho has vowed to keep his head down and work hard for his team, despite speculating mounting about his future at the club.

The young Nigerian has fallen down the pecking order at the Etihad Stadium as a result of the form of Sergio Aguero and the arrival of Brazilian star Gabriel Jesus.

The 20-year-old frontman has been linked with a summer move to a number of Premier League clubs but insists he is happy at the club and that City need a large squad if they are to compete for domestic and European trophies.

Photo by Kieran Galvin/NurPhoto via Getty Images

“I just keep working with the team and I’m still at Manchester City, so I’ll meet up with the boys and kick off the season with Manchester City,” said Iheanacho.

“I’m happy to stay at Manchester City and keep fighting to help them achieve what they want to achieve.”

He added: “Manchester City is a big team and we need to go far as a squad, so we need everybody.

“Of course everyone is competing but we compete as a team.

“The manager can only pick 11 players so everyone is working, doing well and going 100 per cent. So we keep working and see what comes around next season.”

Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck insists he has unfinished business in the FA Cup as he prepares to walk out onto the Wembley turf to face Chelsea in Saturday’s final.

Welbeck played an influential part in the Gunners’ run to the trophy last season, scoring a quarter-final winner against Manchester United, but was forced to watch his side’s triumph over Aston Villa in the final from the sidelines with a knee injury.

That same injury saw him miss out on the early stages of the 2016/17 season, making his return to first-team action in Arsenal’s FA Cup fourth-round tie with Southampton in January.

In that game, he scored the opening two goals in a 5-0 win at St Mary’s, and while Arsenal’s season may have not gone to plan with a fifth place finish, they are determined to right the wrongs of their league campaign at Wembley this weekend.

(Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

“As a club, with the way the season’s panned out, it’s not a [league] position we want to be in at all,” he said.

“We know that we’ve got the opportunity of playing in the FA Cup final, and it’s something we really want to do our best in.

“With the last cup final, I wasn’t on the pitch and that was disappointing for me. It was a bittersweet moment for me because you know you’ve played your part to get there and your team-mates are winning and lifting the trophy, but you wanted to be a part of that and play a part on the pitch as well.

“It’s difficult but it’s now something that’s behind me and you can’t change it. I’ve got the final to look forward to this season, so it’s something that I’m going to enjoy. I’m going to play the game and try to win the final.

“Wembley is a place I know really well because I’ve played there multiple times. If you know the surroundings a bit better, it gives you that kind of familiarity.

“It’s a great place to play and what better occasion than the FA Cup final. Hopefully we’ll be able to lift the cup again.”

Gary Cahill may have won it all in a Chelsea shirt, but after missing out on the final in 2012’s FA Cup success, the on-field skipper admits this year’s Wembley showpiece means even more to him.

The 31-year-old England centre-back won his only FA Cup winner’s medal five seasons ago, as the Blues beat Liverpool 2-1 in the final – Ramires and Didier Drogba grabbing the goals.

While he was able to celebrate with his teammates, Cahill and current defensive partner David Luiz were both sidelined that day in a bid to be fully fit for the Champions League final.

And despite lifting Europe’s top prize in Munich the following week as Chelsea beat Bayern on penalties, Cahill still looks back on that glorious day at Wembley with some regrets and wants to lift the trophy again by beating London rivals Arsenal on Saturday.

“I have been fortunate enough to have all the trophies in England, but [the FA Cup] is the one I have wanted to do again for the obvious reason I would have loved to have played in the final,” he said.

“The FA Cup means a lot to me, 100 per cent. I don’t know why people talk about it as if the shine has gone off it.

“For me it is the big cup competition in England and it always has been since I have been a kid, the one that everyone wants to get to and everyone wants to win, the one everyone watches as a kid so there is no shine off it for me. It is still huge.

“I cannot remember watching a cup final when it has not been a nice day so hopefully it will be the same.

“It is all teed up to be a great game – two big-name clubs going head-to-head. Arsenal have a big reputation in this competition in the past few years and there is no motivation needed.

“It is a cup final and we are preparing well this week to be ready for that, and we hope we can finish the season on a high.”

West Ham United ace Manuel Lanzini is aiming to rise to the occasion when he jets off to represent his country for the first time at senior level.

The 24-year-old attacking midfielder is set to share a dressing room with superstars such as Lionel Messi, Paulo Dybala and Javier Mascherano next month after being called up by Argentina for their upcoming glamour friendly against Brazil in Melbourne on June 9 and subsequent trip to Singapore four days later.

Lanzini, who scored eight goals in 39 appearances for the Hammers this term, is delighted with his international nod and is determined to make the most of a landmark career moment.

“I’m very happy for this,” said Lanzini, who is joined by fellow Premier League players Sergio Romero and Nicolas Otamendi in the Argentina squad – although Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero was left out.

(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

“To get a call from Argentina is a surprise, but now I’ll go to Argentina and relax and then I’ll concentrate on the games.

“Of course, I am very excited. It’s very good to play with Argentina and with my country. It’s amazing and I’m looking forward to playing with amazing players.

“I feel ready because the coach [Jorge] Sampaoli called me for the team and I am happy for this.”

Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet may have been criticised for his performances between the sticks, but he ended the season with four consecutive clean sheets and puts it down, at least in some part, to not changing his gloves.

The Belgian keeper kept out Watford, Southampton, West Ham and Middlesbrough to ensure the Reds ended the season in fourth place and secured a play-off berth for next season’s Champions League.

But after three shut-outs in a row, Mignolet was close to switching his worn gloves for a new pair, however he stuck with the tried and tested mitts and it paid dividends as Liverpool said goodbye to the 2016/17 season with a comprehensive 3-0 beating of Boro.

“Before the game I was thinking of changing my gloves because they have run out a bit, but I said ‘no, I can’t do that’,” the 29-year-old revealed.

Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

“And luckily it paid off. Now we can celebrate finishing in the top four.

“I’m pleased with how I have performed individually and together with the team. Keeping those clean sheets was very important in the last few weeks, to give us that platform and basis to win games.

“We have learned a lot, especially because the clean sheets came against teams who we struggled against a bit at the beginning of the season. We learned how to deal with that.”