Southampton's Charlie Austin scores his team's third goal from a penalty during the English Premier League match against Burnley on Sunday.

As the goals have dried up for Jamie Vardy at Leicester, another former non-league striker has embarked on a hot scoring streak for a Premier League club.

Charlie Austin made it seven goals in six games in all competitions for Southampton with a double in Sunday's 3-1 victory over Burnley that took the south-coast club up to eighth in the standings.

In a career that began outside England's four professional leagues, Burnley provided the 27-year-old Austin with one of his stepping stones to the world's richest soccer competition.

Austin was a bricklayer working a full day on a building site before playing on a part-time basis for Poole Town in the ninth tier until 2009. It took third-tier club Swindon to pluck Austin from obscurity, for Burnley to take him up another league and then QPR to give him a shot at the Premier League.

Still, doubts persisted around Austin's fitness. Southampton was able to snap him up for 4 million pounds (then US$6 million) in January. What a bargain that now seems.

The case looks increasingly compelling for Austin to return to the England squad for the first time since 2015 when he failed to make his international debut.

Particularly if England interim manager Gareth Southgate is comparing Austin's form with Vardy's for Leicester when it comes to selecting players to face Scotland and Spain next month.

After a 24-goal haul last season, Vardy has only scored twice this campaign and his goal drought reached seven matches on Saturday as Leicester's feeble title defense continued with a loss at Chelsea.

Austin and his teammates will now travel to Italy full of confidence for one of the biggest games in the club's history — a Europa League game against Inter Milan on Thursday.

"This team will always create chances, it's a dream for any striker," Austin said. "I am in the right place at the right time."

In the day's other Premier League match, Watford beat Middlesbrough 0-1.

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