England Watch - Michael Mancienne
Steve McClaren will be keeping a careful eye on Mancienne's progress
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Wednesday, 25, Apr 2007 05:24
In this series of player profiles for the next generation of England stars, we have included several of the under-21 starlets that could be on the brink of the first-team squad with a year or two more experience.
However today's featured player, Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne, is of an even younger ilk and could still be a player with potential by the time of the next World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
Currently on loan to his parent club's neighbours Queens Park Rangers, Mancienne is gaining first-team experience already and is most certainly one to watch in the long-term.
InTheNews' Alistair Potter looks more closely at the former England under-18 captain.
Name: Michael Mancienne
Position: Defender
Club: QPR (on loan from Chelsea)
Age by South Africa 2010: 22
The name Michael Mancienne may be relatively unknown to many football fans outside the Championship, the England youth set-up or the grounds of Stamford Bridge.
But Chelsea fans have been murmuring about this young prodigy for a good couple of years now, and with good reason.
At just 19 year of age now, Mancienne is already an accomplished centre-half in the second tier of English football and has worn the Three Lions on several occasions.
Granted, his international experience is only with the under-18s, but he captained the side for an extended period of time and always looked one of the most accomplished players on the park - an old head among young team-mates.
Since being loaned out to QPR in October last year, Mancienne has finally had the chance to prove his worth in a genuine, senior competitive match and he has had plenty of chances at Loftus Road.
Under the tutelage of new Rangers boss John Gregory, Mancienne has developed into a first-team regular and will certainly have added some guile to his game with his experience with west London's lesser lights.
This season's relegation battle will hardly have given him experience he will need to draw upon as a Chelsea player - if Stamford Bridge represents his immediate future. However, having gone through a season like this one has been for QPR, it will allow him to add to his game in a way that would not have been possible when playing for Chelsea's star-studded reserves.
Mancienne's only experience of first-team football for his parent club has been as an unused substitute on three occasions earlier this season and he is unlikely to get a look-in if Chelsea choose to spend big-money on a centre-half in the summer, as the gossip columns suggest they will.
Nevertheless, Mancienne will have the chance to learn from one of the country's best defenders in John Terry - England's captain, no less - so Chelsea could arguably be the best place for him to continue to develop.
And while boss Jose Mourinho obviously has his preferences for defenders he knows well, no-one would suggest he is afraid of challenging his younger players with first-team duty.
A manager who does not fear taking risks? Learning the tricks of his trade directly from the England skipper? Mancienne could hardly ask for a better environment to develop his game and the beneficiaries could be England.
The potential is most certainly there so we wait with baited breath to see how the next two years of his career progress, and then we will know if he is a possibility for the England squad of 2010 - failing that he will still be at his peak in 2018, so it's not as if there is any rush.
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