Lonergan, 20, is now number one at Deepdale and opened the league campaign in dramatic style with a late penalty save against Watford to earn his side a 2-1 win.

The Preston-born keeper is now challenging for a place in the young England side that is set to take on Ukraine Under-21s in Middlesbrough on August 17.

And former Tottenham goalkeeper Parks - now an England coach - believes Lonergan is ready to shine.

"He loves to dominate his 18-yard area and at 6'5" he is more than comfortable dealing with crosses," Parks explains.

"But he is also very agile for a big guy and moves his feet very well. He sees danger early and likes to cut it out before he has people smacking shots at him. On top of that he has good distribution and always looks at ease with back-passes.

"The other thing that has impressed me is that he has been very patient. He has been involved in all the age group teams with England, although sometimes he has only been on the bench.

"But he has not moaned and has continued to work hard and I am very pleased that he is now getting his chance at Preston because he deserves it.

"We have an Under-21 game coming up and it will be interesting to see if he can earn himself a place in the team.

"There are probably about four or five good young goalkeepers vying for a spot, but there is a new Under-21 coach now in Peter Taylor and I am sure he will want to look at everybody."

The likes of Scott Carson at Leeds and Lee Grant and Lee Camp at Derby will also hope to be involved in the game against Ukraine and Parks believes the strong competition for places will spur them and Lonergan onto greater glory.

"All of the young goalkeepers are talented and have great ability, so I think it just comes down to how hard they want to work on their game," Parks adds.

"But the most healthy thing for England is that there is such strong competition and nobody is guaranteed a place at Under-21 level.

"Nobody can afford to stand still in terms of development and they will all push each other on. Personally, I think it will be very interesting to see who impresses Peter Taylor the most and takes that chance which could lead to promotion to the senior squad."