Chelsea midfielder Lewis Baker has been training with the senior England squad.
The Daily Mail says at St George's Park on Tuesday, when Hodgson was a man short for the session he wanted to put on, he sent for Chelsea midfielder Baker from Gareth Southgate's Under 21s.
It gave Baker a glimpse of the future, showing the youngster what is in front of him if he continues to develop as a player with England's junior teams. Blooding these players could yet be Roy Hodgson's legacy.
"That is a great pat on the back for our development system. I know not everyone agrees with this, but the pragmatic reason you have development teams is to get into the first team. You are an Under 21 player because you want to be a senior player. We didn't know how Sterling would turn out a year ago to the player he is today.
"We did not know the early days of Jordan Henderson at Liverpool that he would become the player he is. We didn't know Ross Barkley would kick on."
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