West Bromwich Albion boss Roy Hodgson feels goalkeeper Ben Foster should declare himself for England.

Foster will go head to head with the current England number one Joe Hart in tonight's Barclays Premier League clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Hodgson said: "Hart has established himself as England's number one and rightly so but the way Ben has been playing lately means I'm going to back my man.

"On a realistic note, the way Ben has played the last few weeks, he's got to be a major candidate for one of the three (England) goalkeeping positions.

"Of course he's got to be persuaded to come out of retirement. I would like to think a player of his ability, his age and enthusiasm, could be persuaded to come out of retirement.

"Both he and Hart are young men in goalkeeping terms. We see three other great goalkeepers in Brad Friedel, Mark Schwarzer and Shay Given, who are all approaching 40.

"To have a good keeper in his late 20s is excellent."