England coach tips Chopra for the top

Last updated : 28 November 2002 By Martyn Elliott

"Michael has all the talent in the world. He can go as far in the game as he wants to," Reed told the FA’s website.

"I don't normally build up young players publicly but I have known Michael since he was 14 and I know his attitude is first-class.

"From the very start, I could tell he had outstanding anticipation and opportunism in front of goal.

"He has Alan Shearer to look up to at Newcastle and Peter Beardsley doing his coaching and you couldn't get better role models than them."

"It was nice for Michael to score a couple because recently he has been the provider for other people. His versatility is a huge benefit; we don't see our front three as being restricted to set positions. We like them to all be able to switch from wide positions to down the middle.

"Michael has adapted to that really well and it helps that he only needs to be told things once to understand, a bit like Michael Tonge who I thought had a great debut.

"It is up to us to build good relationships with club managers. It would be nice to think players like Michael Dawson, Stefan Moore and Rooney could all benefit from playing with the rest of the team."

It would be nice to see a bit more of Chopra’s talents on show at St James’ Park.