England veteran Frank Lampard has no fears for the future of English football with young talents such as Jack Wilshere and Josh McEachran around. Arsenal starlet Wilshere, 19, put in a fine display against European giants Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.

McEachran, meanwhile, is a 17-year-old who has only made a handful of first-team appearances for Chelsea but looks a real prospect.

"I watched Jack play against Barcelona and he had a fantastic game. He's ready to start against Wales. If he can play against Barcelona, he can play against Wales," Lampard said in The Times.

"Barcelona are probably the best team in the world, not just club sides, and he's shown he can perform against them.

"England debuts are difficult, especially when it's only 45 minutes. It's not easy to express yourself as they can be slow-paced games. He's ready now.

"It's refreshing to see that at 19 and it's what the country was crying out for after the World Cup, a couple of young boys with the ability to perform at the highest level."

On McEachran, he added: "Josh is close to making a real impact.

"It's not been an ideal season for him to get his chance as we've been losing games and you want to put youngsters in when things are going better, but when he's played, he's not looked out of place.

"He's an England player in waiting and in the next few years will be putting pressure on the likes of me, Gareth (Barry) and Steven (Gerrard), which is exactly what he should be doing."