Sunderland boss Gus Poyet believes Connor Wickham can play his way into the England squad.
The 21-year-old put an end to speculation that he could be set to quit the Stadium of Light in the summer after signing a new deal until 2019 earlier this week.
"There are not too many young English players with that power," he said.
"Maybe the people who worked with him at Under-21 would be surprised if they got the chance to see him again now.
"They'd be surprised at how much he's improved and how mature he is. Now it depends on us making him better and him scoring goals."
He added: "I forget sometimes he's 21. Because you've been with him for a while, you think he's 24. He's more mature, he knows his game better and what he can do for us. He keeps improving and there's more to come, I'm sure there's more."
