West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola has tipped defender Matthew Upson to make Fabio Capello's England squad for this summer's World Cup finals.
The Hammers fended off interest in the 30-year-old during the transfer window from a number of rivals in the Barclays Premier League.
Zola and the club's new owners, David Sullivan and David Gold, see retaining the likes of Upson and goalkeeper Robert Green as a major coup for the club.
And the Italian believes Upson can secure his place on the plane to South Africa with some excellent performances for West Ham.
Zola said: "I think he has been playing very well. He didn't perform as well as he could at the start but now he's one of the best players I've had.
"His mental strength is getting better and better. I know he has two very good players in front of him [in the England team], it depends on the condition of those players.
"He knows the World Cup comes through the performances he has with West Ham."
