Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has backed Fabian Delph to earn a call-up to England s FIFA World Cup squad.
The midfielder, who has represented his country at Under-21s level, has been in excellent form this season, helping Villa climb to the safety of mid-table after fighting a relegation battle for most of the last campaign.
And Lambert believes that the 24-year-old, whose progress has been hindered by a series of injuries, could catch the eye of national coach Roy Hodgson.
I can only speak from my time here and in nearly two seasons that I ve been here he s done fantastic for us, Lambert said in quotes reported by The Birmingham Mail.
But I think that the injury situation with him has probably stopped him going as quickly as he should have.
If England did call him in and give him a chance he wouldn t let anybody down, but that s up to the England manager to assess.
I don t know if he s got a chance, but I always think there s one surprise.
Whether it s Fabian or someone else, I don t know. But at the minute he s playing really well for us, which is my concern at the moment.
Delph was a highly rated youngster at Leeds United and moved to Villa Park in 2009.
