SAINTS star Tino Livramento continued his rapid recent rise with a debut for England's under-21s.

The 18-year-old completed a £5million move from Chelsea to St Mary's over the summer, and instantly broke into the starting line-up.

He has not missed a minute of Premier League action this season, despite having previously never played a senior competitive match before in his career.

Livramento has shone in his three outings so far, his early form earning him a call-up into Lee Carsley's England under-21s squad.

And the right-back, who had made appearances for England from under-15s through to under-19s, now has his first cap for the level immediately below the senior side.

Livramento came off the bench to replace PSV's Noni Madueke for the final seven minutes as Carsley's Young Lions kicked off their Euro 2023 qualification campaign with a 2-0 win over Kosovo in Milton Keynes.

England sealed victory thanks to goals from Rhian Brewster and Cole Palmer.

Speaking to the England football website about his recent rise, Livramento said: “Pulling on the England shirt means everything (to me).

“When you are young, you dream of doing things like this as a footballer and right now it (playing for England) is the biggest stage I can go to.

"I am proud that I am representing my family and myself.

“Captaining England (at under-18s level) was probably the proudest moment for me so far. It tops everything.

"Just walking out there and not only playing but being captain brings out a different side to me that I don’t usually bring when I am not captain.

"I was talking more and it was a good experience because I think it has brought a different side to my game that maybe I was missing.

“It was the proudest moment for me so far.”

Discussing his first call-up to the under-21s, Livramento added: "To get to that next step with England was quite a surprise but it was a massive thing for me and my family.

“It has obviously been a crazy couple of months but even though it is a big thing to be playing in the Premier League, at Southampton it has been easy to settle in because of everyone there and the coaches and playing staff.

“Getting the England call-up was even more of a massive thing for me. So I am trying to take everything in my stride and keep moving forward.”

Quizzed on his decision to leave Chelsea for Saints over the summer, Livramento explained: "Every single year, I have a routine of setting goals and there is only so much you can do at youth level.

“Me and my dad sat down in May and we spoke and thought the next step would be for me to push into a Premier League team and we felt the better route for me was to leave Chelsea.

“It wasn’t easy obviously as I have been a fan for as long as I can remember and been a player there since I was seven.

“I never thought that I would be playing straight away (at Saints) but you have to take everything in your stride and you cannot hide when you get that opportunity. You have to take it. I hope I can keep doing that.

“At Southampton, luckily with the manager, the staff and the players, it has come together quite nicely.”

Livramento will be hoping to keep his place in Saints' starting XI for the visit of West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday (3pm).