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VIDEO: Villa's Delph catching England eye

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Villa midfielder Joe Cole has tipped team-mate Fabian Delph to be an England regular as he catches the eye on international duty.

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Cole won the last of his 56 caps in 2010 and scored 10 goals for his country, one of them against Sweden at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The 33-year-old knows what it takes to succeed in an England shirt and thinks the combative Delph, coming into his prime at 25, has got the lot.

He's in the Three Lions squad for the Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Lithuania on Friday, before travelling to Italy for a friendly next Tuesday.

And Cole said: "Delph's got so many attributes and so much quality. I firmly believe he'll become a regular for England and go to win 50 or 60 caps.

"I'm always telling him what a good player I think he is and I don't lie. He's a top player and he's developing 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 become one of England's top midfielders."

Delph has blossomed into the captaincy under new Villa manager Tim Sherwood, a decision Cole feels will only benefit his development.

He said: "He's played a lot of games, a lot of football. He knows his way around. He's a bright player.

"It's great that he's been given the captaincy for the last few games - it's been excellent for him.

"He just needs that belief in himself. He is developing at a massive rate and he's got a massive part to play this season. Next season, I think you'll see him go up another level."

(Video courtesy of FATV)