England U21 boss Stuart Pearce says Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne can match the achievements of his former Nottingham Forest teammate Des Walker.

Pearce said: "If you put a run of form together then no matter where you are playing you will get looked at. Michael is very calm and assured, he's a quiet lad but his positional sense is excellent. He reminds me a lot of Des Walker.

"He's quick and he'll put his boot or head in when required.

"It doesn't surprise me this was the call-up for him.

"I've seen Michael at Wolves and he's been their best player, possibly even the best on the pitch for most of the games."