Skipper John Terry admits the emergence of Manchester United youngster Phil Jones means he is looking over his shoulder in the battle for an England spot.
But the 30-year-old Chelsea centre-back is determined not to give up his position lightly as he looks to make up for the agony of England not qualifying for Euro 2008 by leading them to next summer's finals.
Jones is in contention to play in Friday evening's qualifier in Bulgaria after an impressive start to his first season at Old Trafford.
The absence of vice-captain Rio Ferdinand has created a potential opening on this occasion for Jones.
But Terry knows he faces a fight for his own place if the former Blackburn player continues to develop while other youngsters like Chris Smalling and Tom Cleverley are also pushing hard.
He said: "I'm really impressed by Phil. He made his debut against Chelsea, playing very well against Didier Drogba, and got man of the match.
"He literally has all the attributes that he'll need to become a very good England player.
"Being at a club like United has helped him in a very short space of time.
"He's got the likes of Rio (Ferdinand) and (Nemanja) Vidic to learn from there. What I've seen of him, he's come on leaps and bounds even from where he was last year as well."
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