Roy Hodgson 'monitored Andros Townsend at Queens Park Rangers'

England manager Roy Hodgson has revealed that he has been aware of Andros Townsend's international potential since his temporary stint at Queens Park Rangers.

The Tottenham Hotspur winger had nine loan spells away from White Hart Lane, the last of which was with the Hoops last season, before establishing himself at Spurs this term.

He scored on his debut in England's crucial 4-1 World Cup qualifying win over Montenegro at Wembley on Friday, but Hodgson has insisted that the 22-year-old has not come onto his radar only recently.

"I know quite a lot about the young players at Tottenham because they have a lot of them," Hodgson told reporters.

"Tom Carroll is one, Kyle Walker and Kyle Naughton and also Andros Townsend. These were players I had been following all through last year. But when Andros got the loan move to QPR and did so well there it really alerted us.

"I have seen him play a lot of times for Tottenham this season, as have my staff, and he has more than replicated those QPR performances. He has made us sit up and think about him even more."

Yeovil Town, Leyton Orient, MK Dons, Birmingham City and Leeds United are among the clubs that Townsend has been loaned to.