Aston Villa midfielder Joe Cole has today stated that he believes team-mate Fabian Delph to be England's best mifielder, and gave a prediction as to how many caps the 25-year-old may win.
Delph enjoyed a strong 2014-15 season for Villa, whom he captains. Making his England debut against Norway in September, he has gone on to make a further five caps for the national team, and fellow Villans midfielder Cole has tipped him to gain many more.
"Delphy's got so many attributes and so much quality," said Cole. "I firmly believe he'll go on to win 50 plus caps. I'm always telling him what a good player I think he is. He's a top player and he's developed all the way through the season. You have to remember he's 25 but as he's had such bad injuries for a young man, you've got to look at him as a 23-year-old in terms of his development because he missed a couple of years. I'd imagine he'll go up another couple of levels in the next few years and he'll shine bright in that England midfield.
I just believe he is top quality. I think he is the form English midfielder when you look at the season just gone. He has made himself the first name on the team sheet for England, in my opinion. He has still got some developing to do but he has played brilliantly this past season."