Eddie Howe believes Charlie Austin could quite possibly be a late candidate for Roy Hodgson's England setup for Euro2016.

The 26-year-old striker returned to the Premier League when joining Southampton from QPR last month and according to Bournemouth boss Howe, has the attributes Hodgson may feel are necessary to take to France this summer.

Ahead of Tuesday night's clash between the Cherries and the Saints, Howe said: "I still think he's young enough for England, and I still think the end of this season could be really important for him.

"England aren't blessed with a huge array of strikers to pick from and I still think he's got every chance to get to the Euros. So the end of the season's going to be important for him.

"It could possibly turn out to be a timely move. From his perspective he's got to stay fit and bang some goals in."

Howe signed Austin when he was manager at Burnley back in 2011 so is well-versed to pass judgement on the former non-league star.

"Charlie is someone we admire greatly and he's a real goalscorer," he added.

"So I think he'll do very well for Saints, supplemented by a very good squad around him and a team that will play to his strengths."