Former England Under 21 star Sean Davis returned to the Fulham starting line-up at the weekend having been sidelined for over a month by a fractured toe.

His comeback coincided with the Cottagers return to winning ways, as he inspired his side to a 3-2 success over Liverpool at Loftus Road. The youngsters influence has not got unnoticed by his manager Jean Tigana.

The Frenchman said: "When I signed for Fulham two-and-a-half years ago, my dream was to take young players and bring them through to the national team, like I did at Monaco with Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet.

"I'm not too far away with Sean, who has the quality to play for the national team.

"I'm happy he's back because he's a very important, big player for Fulham and we missed him. He has good technical skills and good spirit.

"And now there's a little bit of pressure on the player to stay at this level. He understands he has to work hard."

The possibilities for Davis to progress to the England Senior squad must be increasing with every impressive performance. He chose a good time to turn in a match winning performance on Saturday, as Sven Goran Eriksson was in attendance.

Tigana continued, "I spoke with Eriksson about him before this season, which was too early for him.

 

England Under 21 coach David Platt is not surprised by the attention that the Lambeth-born player is now receiving. The combative midfielder made 12 appearances for the Under-21s and scored one goal and was integral part of Platt's team.

Platt says of Davis, "Sean was a key player in the Under-21s, playing a vital role in anchoring the midfield. Besides his ability and work rate, he is tactically very aware and we always missed his presence sorely when he was unavailable.

"He scored a crucial goal in the European Championship play-off against Holland, and it is great to see him returning to the Fulham team after injury and getting his name on the score sheet."  

 

Speculation has placed Davis as a possible challenger for Steven Gerrard's place in the England team, but the youngster is keeping his feet on the ground.

"It's very flattering to be likened to Steven Gerrard. He's younger than me and has already played in the European Championships and would have gone to the World Cup if it wasn't for injury.

"He's a great talent and has played at the highest level. Maybe I'll be there one day. I've got to play well in the next couple of games if I'm going to prove anything." added Davis.