England Watch - Cameron Jerome
Cameron has five league goals from 20 starts this season
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Wednesday, 18, Apr 2007 05:25
England's recent crisis of strikers has brought the lack of availability of top-class forwards into the media limelight.
And while many are casting their eyes across the flair players (or lack thereof) in the Premiership, many are missing the raw talent that exists in the Championship.
The ability of second-tier players to make the step up to international football has long been dismissed, with only Steve Bull of Wolves and England having anything like an extended run in the national side while playing outside the top flight.
Yet Preston's David Nugent impressed, and scored (however lucky or selfish that may have been) on his debut. So what chance is there that Birmingham City's young talent Cameron Jerome could break through to the England set-up anytime soon? InTheNews' Alistair Potter casts his eye over the 20-year-old as a prospect for the 2010 World Cup squad.
Name: Cameron Jerome
Position: Striker
Club: Birmingham City
Age by South Africa 2010: 23
Despite being of tender years still, Cameron Jerome has already commanded a multi-million pound transfer fee when he made the switch from Cardiff City to Birmingham last summer.
And while Jerome has been no more than a fringe player for the Brummie Blues this season, he successfully showcased his talents while at the Bluebirds from the Welsh capital last season - finishing as their top scorer.
It was Jerome's 20 goals in 47 appearances for Cardiff that first attracted the attention of Birmingham boss Steve Bruce and he shelled out £3 million for the then-19-year-old precocious talent.
The player gained notoriety straight away for his new team when he was shown a red card three minutes into his debut as a substitute against Colchester, although this indiscretion went largely unpunished as Birmingham still won 2-1.
In his first season at St Andrews, Jerome has managed just seven goals, including one in the League Cup in the 4-2 victory at Premiership side Sheffield United, but he has started only half of the side's first-team games.
His lack of participation has been largely down to the sheer depth of talent in Bruce's forward ranks.
Jerome is competing regularly against former Chelsea man Mikael Forssell, new Portsmouth loanee Andrew Cole and two fellow multi-million pound men in Rowan Vine and Gary McSheffrey for a starting berth up front.
And it is this talented forward line - an embarrassment of riches, even for some Premiership teams - that has restricted Jerome's chances.
When it comes to his international credentials, Jerome is already part of the England under-21s set-up and has seven caps to his name, although he is yet to score while wearing the Three Lions.
Many believe it will only take a season of regular, top flight football for him to work his way into the media spotlight and start pushing for promotion to the England senior set-up, although this is dependent on many factors, not least his ability to command a regular starting berth.
Either way, Cameron Jerome's future is bright and he still has over a decade to play at the top level. He has already proved with Cardiff last season that he has the ability to score goals when he is a regular starter so if he can reproduce that form in the Premiership, Steve McClaren is bound to come calling soon.
And World Cup 2010 could be just the platform for Jerome to announce himself on the stage as an England superstar in the making.
England's 2010 World Cup squad
*Players in bold - tickets to South Africa booked already
Goalkeepers
Paul Robinson
Possibles: Chris Kirkland, Ben Foster, Rob Green, Scott Carson
Defenders
John Terry, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher
Possibles: Glen Johnson, Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards, Ledley King, Michael Dawson, Anton Ferdinand, Leighton Baines, Justin Hoyte, Curtis Davies, Wes Brown, Phil Bardsley, Michael Mancienne
Midfielders
Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Owen Hargreaves, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick
Possibles: Aaron Lennon, Tom Huddlestone, Nigel Reo-Coker, Lee Cattermole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Stewart Downing, Giles Barnes, James Morrison, Kieran Richardson
Forwards
Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen
Possibles: David Nugent, Theo Walcott, James Vaughan, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Darren Bent, Dean Ashton, Cameron Jerome