CALLUM Wilson set his sights on hitting his Cherries half-century – and admitted his England ambitions were driving him harder than ever.

The rapid frontman has amassed an impressive return of 49 goals in 127 outings for the Dorset club since signing from Coventry City in July 2014.

Wilson’s appearances have been limited by two serious knee injuries but he has been fit and firing for the past year.

No Englishman has contributed more goals and assists combined in the Premier League this season than the 26-year-old, who will hope to crash through the half-century barrier when Manchester United visit Vitality Stadium on Saturday (12.30pm).

And Wilson is keen to put himself in the frame for a first senior England call ahead of fixtures against the United States and Croatia later this month.

He told the Daily Echo: “Every striker wants to keep adding goals to their game and to hit 50 goals for Bournemouth would be nice.

“It will have been a long time coming. I should have hit it a lot sooner but I will take hitting it this week or the week after.

“I’m going to focus on Bournemouth and if an England call comes, then it does, and if it doesn’t then I will keep working hard like I have been.

“We’ve had a few international breaks and I haven’t made the cut.

“That’s given me more drive and determination to make the squad and, hopefully, one day it will happen.

“All I can do is keep getting assists and goals and try to be consistent in my performances.”

Wilson will hope his association with England boss Gareth Southgate will play in his favour.

Southgate gave Wilson his England under-21s debut four years ago, the striker coming on as a substitute for Harry Kane in a 3-2 friendly defeat to France.

While Wilson has six goals in 12 appearances this season, his improvement in racking up assists may also draw the attention of Southgate.

The former Tamworth loan ace already has four assists for 2018-19, a total greater than any of his other top-flight campaigns combined.

That places him second in the Cherries rankings behind Ryan Fraser, who leads the overall race in the Premier League alongside Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy on five.

Discussing his improvement in that department, Wilson said: “We have been working hard on the training ground. I have tried to add more assists to my game and it is coming off.

“It’s about making the right decisions. That’s the most important thing when you go through – whether you try to score or roll the ball to a team-mate.

“A few times I have been sent wide so I have managed to pull the ball back or play my team-mates in on goal.

“My job is to help the team and if I don’t get on the scoresheet, I’m still happy for the players who do.

“We want to move up the league so I don’t think we can have any individuals wanting to take the praise for themselves.”