Aston Villa boss Dean Smith promised Ross Barkley he would get him into next summer’s Euros squad.

The on-loan Chelsea midfielder scored the winner in Villa’s impressive 1-0 win at Leicester on Sunday night.

He has instantly hit the ground running after his career appeared to be going backwards at the Blues.

Smith told Sky Sports: “He’s a high-calibre player. I’m thankful to Chelsea that they’ve loaned him to us.

“I sold him the project here and told him I’ll get him in the Euros squad and he’s going to try and help us win football games. He’s certainly done that in his first couple.

“He couldn’t have started better. Being a Blue, getting that win and scoring against the Reds (in a 7-2 win before the international break) and then getting that in the 91st minute couldn’t have been a better start for him or us.”