Gary O'Neil admits he had never heard of Middlesbrough teammate David Wheater before he arrived from Portsmouth in the summer.
O'Neil said the Redcar-born centre-half deserved his call-up to the original 30-man England squad.
He said: "David's had a brilliant season, he's been fantastic for us. To be honest, I hadn't really heard of him at all before I came up to Middlesbrough.
"He's come through in a massive way and I think everyone in the country knows who he is now."
