Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah backed up England senior call-up as he approaches Alan Shearer’s record

Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah has been supported to become a future England international by Under-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd.

The 21-year-old moved within a shot of Alan Shearer’s England U21 record of 13 goals to open the scoring in the Young Lions’ 2-1 win in Austria.

It was the Arsenal striker’s seventh goal in his last three games for Boothroyd’s side, who have won six out of six European qualifiers while remaining at the top of Group Three.

When asked if he could soon lose another player to Gareth Southgate’s senior set-up, Boothroyd said: “That’s the nature of the job.

“If it means that another player is moving up, that’s great. It means they are doing really well to be close to the manager’s thoughts.

“So if that happens it’s great, we’ll just find the next one. Comparing that (Nketiah) to some of the others who have already climbed, I think it’s in a similar stage.

“He’s competing against some of the best players in the country and if he keeps scoring and keeps scoring for his club and us, then he’s going to ask questions, right?

“Yes, he can do it, but it’s nice that he has experiences like this because he didn’t have an easy game tonight.

“He was kicked from post to post, which happens when you are a good center forward like him. He has to face him and tonight he did it and scored.”

Skipper Ben Godfrey scored his first goal for his country early in the second half before Patrick Schmidt pulled one back for Austria on the hour.

England are six points clear of group second Austria with four games to play, but have had to fight hard to keep the 100% record.

“They scored a goal and they had hope and we had to dig to the end to get the result,” Boothroyd added.

“It puts us in a very strong position, but we still have some banana peels to overcome before we can do what we set out to do before the season starts.”

Boothroyd also praised the “unsung hero” Godfrey, adding: “He’s a really good young player. We have high hopes for him too, so I’m happy he’s achieved his goal.

“I don’t know what his career goals are, but the guys were making fun of him. I think it’s his first ever, not just for England.”

Additional Press Association reporting