England manager Fabio Capello will turn to Manchester United's group of emerging youngsters to help his side qualify for Euro 2012.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has unveiled a new-look side made up primarily of players under the age of 25 and the young English prodigies have made an instant impact.
The Premier League champions began the season with a dramatic 3-2 victory over rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield and last week swept away Tottenham 3-0 at Old Trafford with youngsters such as former Blackburn defender Phil Jones, Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck and Chris Smalling to the fore.
Capello admits to being both surprised and delighted by Ferguson's youth revolution and has included eight United men in his provisional squad for next month's qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales, hinting that many of them could play a major part in England's future.
"It is really interesting," Capello said. "Welbeck, Smalling, Jones, Cleverley. All these players are playing really good.
"After the game they played against Manchester City at Wembley, they are improving. The game they played against Tottenham was really important, they played with confidence.
"Welbeck is really interesting because he matches Wayne Rooney very well; the movement without the ball.
"The other one who is improving in a new position at right-back is Smalling. When he goes forward he doesn't play with fear. He is a really interesting player in this position.
"And another one is Jones; so young, so good. He is a really good talent for England. I think Jones is a talent like Jack Wilshere, the kind who has played well at every level.
"He wants the ball, he is confident every time when he passes; he asks for the ball when he doesn't have it. It is not easy to find a player who is so young that can play with so much confidence."
Jones, signed from Blackburn for £16 million at the age of just 19, has made such an impact on Capello that he could even consider playing him ahead of former England captain Rio Ferdinand in future.
When asked if Jones could play straight away he said: "He could. Potentially he is a fantastic player. He needs to play more games with Manchester United.
"I remember when Wilshere started to play with Arsenal, he got better and better, and after four months he was at the top.
"Jones is the same. So we need to wait some games but the talent is incredible. And when you find the talent, you need to use it.
"Young players find their form quickly. A player like Rio and the others, need more games. For this reason, at this moment, Jones is at the top of his form."
Midfielder Cleverley faces a more anxious wait to see if makes the cut for Capello's final 23 but is clearly in contention.
"He never played with the national team but he is the future," said Capello. "He is interesting because he is intelligent on the pitch. He can play in front of the back four, as a midfielder or a forward."
If Cleverley does make the cut there could be up to seven other United players alongside him, with Ferdinand, Rooney, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young also to consider.
But all eyes will still be on a more established young talent in Arsenal winger Theo Walcott.
Walcott courted controversy by revealing details of Capello's managerial style and behind-the-scenes secrets in a recent autobiography and has been warned about making further revelations.
Capello said: "Theo came to me. I said I prefer you as a player than a writer!. But I want to speak about football, not the book.
"When I speak with the players at the start of the season, I always say my rule is that I am the manager, you are the player. You need to respect all the staff that are working with me. This is important."
Source: AFP
