Saturday 14 May 2016 09:58, UK
West Ham winger Michail Antonio should be considered for an England call-up, according to Slaven Bilic.
Antonio, who joined the Hammers from Nottingham Forest last September, has enjoyed a superb debut season in the Premier League and managed to score his seventh goal for the club in their thrilling 3-2 win over Manchester United on Tuesday.
In recent months, the 26-year-old has been filling in at right-back, but has continued his strong form and helped take West Ham to the verge of qualification for next season's Europa League.
Roy Hodgson will announce his provisional squad for the European Championship on Monday and Bilic feels the England manager should contemplate selecting Antonio.
"He's quality, the way he is playing, the big impact that he's had on our game and also on the Premier League," the West Ham manager said.
"I'm saying as his club manager he's scored some goals, he's made some assists, he's defending really well.
"Of course Roy Hodgson has got a good team, he's not struggling for names. England qualified with 10 out of 10 wins so it's very hard for some players to break in - somebody has got to get injured or somebody has to lose a place in his club long term.
"But if you ask me, does he have enough to offer? Yeah, definitely. He's a player who when he's one against one, he's got pace, he's got strength, he's got the quality of going up and down, he's dangerous on goal. He's a great player for us.
"So does he have potential? Definitely."
A victory over Stoke at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday - live on Sky Sports 3 HD - will guarantee Europa League football for West Ham.
West Ham were knocked out of the Europa League in the third qualifying round last August, with Bilic using a mixture of fringe players and youngsters.
But Bilic has insisted that the Hammers intend to have a real crack at the competition next season, if they do indeed qualify.
"When it's there, you want to do it," Bilic added. "In England, in the media it's always 'is it good to qualify because you have a dip because you're not used to playing three games a week', and that's a minus.
"But it doesn't matter, we really want to qualify and so we're going to do everything we can.
"Last summer was too early, me and my staff were new and we didn't have enough players.
"We didn't want to go out, we wanted to qualify, but without damaging or harming the Premier League. If we qualify (this year) it's totally different to last year.
"You don't have to start too early but what is more important is we're going to have a thicker squad, or a squad that is ready."
