Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson can see a place in Fabio Capello's England squad for his new striker Michael Owen.

"The first thing you would have to say is that England are not endowed with a bunch of top strikers," he said.

"The only consistent selection has been Wayne Rooney. They have tried Emile Heskey and they have tried Peter Crouch.

"They have even tried Theo Walcott when they included him in the World Cup squad in 2006 at 17 years old, which is amazing.

"I still can't understand it. So there is a dearth of really top strikers.

"So that gives Michael Owen a chance. Our approach to him has been to say, 'Enjoy being here, enjoy the training'. And he has not missed a session yet.

"He has operated really well in all the games so far. He has shown some clever stuff and I have been pleased with him.

"It is only through what he does here that Fabio Capello can really look at him. His name and reputation will not get him into the World Cup. It is what he does with us over the next season that will, hopefully, get him into the squad."