Brentford manager Thomas Frank believes Rico Henry will get an England call-up in the near future after an impressive debut Premier League campaign.
Brentford travel to the South Coast on Boxing Day to face Brighton, and Bees boss Frank believes that it is only a matter of time before defender Henry gets called up to the England senior team.
'He will get his England debut,' Frank said. 'He needs to continue being consistent and keep his level of performances high. If he does that then at some point, he will get called up.
'It's very difficult to get top players in the position Rico plays. He needs to improve his end product, but he's working hard on that and he's only going to get better.
'He needs to continue developing but he's lightning quick, his one-on-one defending is fantastic, he's full of energy down the left side and now he's added goals to his CV.
'He's an interesting left back and I understand if England look at him.'
Brentford sit one place above their hosts in 12th place, with the two teams separated on goal difference, and although Frank says that any player can be dropped from his team, he says that Henry is doing everything he can to improve.
'Every player wants to keep improving and developing so they can get to that next level, and that's exactly what Rico wants to do.
'If he's fit and ready to play then he will play because he is the best we have.
'I think that his composure when being pressed could be better, but he's improving all the time and I'm very happy that he's playing for us.'
Victory for either team would see them rise into the top half of the table and into ninth, with Brighton leapfrogging their visitors if they come out victorious.