Tottenham s first-team coach Joe Jordan thinks Jermain Defoe can replace Darren Bent in the England s squad for Euro 2012.
Bent left Spurs in 2009 in the search for regular first-team football due in part to the presence of the diminutive striker and is now at Aston Villa, but Defoe is now himself finding consistent starts hard to come by for the English Premier League club.
The former Portsmouth and West Ham striker has nonetheless scored six goals in all competitions so far this season, and Jordan has backed Defoe to win a place on the plane for the tournament in Poland and the Ukraine for the championships.
I wouldn t say Darren Bent has got to go to the Euros because I think that between now and then you still have to prove that you are a good player. And Jermain Defoe can do that, Jordan told The Mirror.
He is not starting as many games as he would like. But he is as sharp and strong as I have seen him and he s waiting for his opportunity.
He showed against Fulham last time out (on November 6) when he had one chance and he took it.
With Wayne Rooney suspended for the group stage pending his appeal over a three-match ban for the national side, there are strike places up for grabs.
Defoe and Bent will be battling with the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Andy Carroll and Bobby Zamora for spots in Fabio Capello s squad.
I think there will be very few players that will be selected for their country in this tournament if they don t show good form between now and the end of the season, Jordan said.
You have to earn the right to be in that team. If you drop off in form, you could be left at home.
Tottenham take on Aston Villa on Monday, and manager Harry Redknapp is expected to make his return to the touchline at White Hart Lane after his recover from heart surgery.
