Joe Cole believes Jude Bellingham is in "pole position" to start alongside Declan Rice for England ahead of former Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
The ex-Leeds star, who joined Manchester City this summer, broke into Gareth Southgate's squad during the 2020/21 season, and cemented his place as a regular for the Three Lions alongside Rice during England's EURO 2020 campaign.
While they did come up short against Italy in the EURO 2020 final, Phillips played an instrumental part in helping the Three Lions get there, even being named England's Player of the Year for 2020/21.
READ MORE: Leeds United's Sonny Perkins hits 33-minute hat-trick for England Under-19s
However, following the EURO's, Phillips has endured a number of injuries over the course of the last two seasons, with a recent shoulder surgery ruling him out of England's Nations League contests against Italy and Germany.
With Qatar 2022 hurtling down the track, Phillips now faces a race to get match fit ahead of the World Cup.
Dortmund's Bellingham was handed a start by Southgate alongside Rice on Friday night against Italy, with the two operating at the heart of England's midfield in a 3-4-3 formation.
And while England lost 1-0 to Italy, Cole reckons Bellingham should start alongside Rice moving forward, which would leave Phillips on the bench for the Three Lions.
"He [Bellingham] is really mature on and off the pitch for his age," said Cole on Channel 4.
"He is exactly what England need in that position next to Declan Rice. He is strong, powerful and gets on the ball. I like the way he progresses his passes, he is happy to feed it in and is comfortable having bodies around him. He makes the right passes at the right time and he is such a talent. When he gets the ball, he always looks to go forward.
"In the game against Manchester City, he will always look to pop it and run and go into positions. He needs to be disciplined and he will need to do that in Gareth Southgate’s team but he is everything we need for England in that position.
"He is in pole position to be next to Declan Rice, and he is going to add more goals to his game. He is already one of the biggest talents in World football, I love him.
"If we have Grealish, Maddison and Mount playing in that final third, we need someone with bravery to give them the ball, otherwise you could have all the number ten in the world and Bellingham looks like he can fill that gap for us."
READ NEXT
Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood's near-telepathic bond as Leeds United pair discuss chemistry
Kalvin Phillips reveals Man City stars' disbelief about ex-Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa
Victor Orta makes Wilfried Gnonto claim and talks Leeds United's failed Gakpo and Dieng pursuits
Leeds United's best academy products as next generation look to follow Phillips, Gelhardt and others
Victor Orta's glowing Joe Gelhardt praise as striker lifts lid on his Leeds United switch
