Sunderland hitman Darren Bent (8/1 – Premier League Top Scorer) will have every reason to feel confident this season after England coach Fabio Capello confirmed him as “one of the important players for the future”.
The 26-year-old may have been overlooked for the Italian’s 2010 World Cup squad, when Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey and Peter Crouch got the nod.
But Capello insists he will be involved for his country now on, stating on the FA website: “Bent is back. In front of goal, he is really dangerous.
“He played 20 minutes against Switzerland and scored an important goal. Now he is training really well. He is probably one of the important players for the future.”
Bent failed to make the cut for the ill-fated trip to South Africa in the summer despite smashing 24 goals last term to finish second behind Rooney as the most prolific English striker in the Premier League.
The former Charlton and Ipswich star has successfully relaunched his career with the Black Cats after an unhappy spell with Tottenham between 2007-09.
The Londoner still managed 18 goals in 60 appearances for the White Hart Lane outfit, however he never really seemed to have the confidence of boss Harry Redknapp having been signed by Martin Jol.
Bent made the switch to the Stadium of Light for £10m although he could eventually cost Sunderland a reported £16.5m, if various add-ons become payable by the Wearsiders (Sunderland 9/1 – Top Six Finish).
England are not in action until Tuesday October 12 when they entertain Montenegro in a Euro 2012 qualifier, with Capello keen to give his squad as much rest as possible.
He confirmed: “A lot of players have played a lot of games before we play, I prefer to select the players for the game on Tuesday.
“Also I prefer not to play a friendly game on the Friday because we think that the Montenegro game will be really, really important.”
Capello added: “We know that in this period we are really good, the players are playing well and physically it is a really good moment.
“We have to wait five months for the next game with Wales, so we know what we have to do.”
England have got off to a storming start to their Euro 2012 qualification campaign, with back-to-back wins against Bulgaria and Switzerland to top Group G (Three Lions 1/25 – To Qualify).
Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.
Fabio Capello has confirmed he will quit as England coach after Euro 2012 (England 9/1 Outright) because he wants to ‘enjoy my life as a pensioner’.