Alan Pardew has backed Crystal Palace's record signing Andros Townsend to play his way back into the England squad.
Townsend, 25, missed the final cut for Euro 2016 having made Roy Hodgson's initial 26-strong selection.
In July, he joined Palace for £13 million from Newcastle. Two years on from him missing out on the World Cup with an ankle injury, Pardew is convinced Palace are about to benefit from his frustration.
"The biggest influence in preseason without a doubt has been Andros Townsend,'' said Pardew, whose team host West Brom on Saturday in their opening fixture of the Premier League season.
"[He] has come in here off the back of the form he had at Newcastle and shown us that he is definitely going to contribute assists and goals for us at the level it dictates to be an England player.
"I definitely think he will be thinking about this England group, this next squad to get in it, and I notice that Big Sam [Allardyce, the new England manager] has given him a mention already, which bodes well. But he's got to do it on the pitch.
"I will try and play him in a position that will maximise his ability, but the opposition might dictate that. If they have a weaker full-back we can get more joy out of I might look to change his wing, but we'll see on Saturday where he starts.''
In the context of Paul Pogba's £89m record-breaking transfer to Manchester United, or even the £34m Liverpool spent on Sadio Mane, £13m for Townsend appears likely to prove good value.
His availability at that price came through a clause in his contract activated by Newcastle's relegation to the Championship and was followed by the arrival of James Tomkins for £10m and Steve Mandanda for £1.4m.
A hamstring injury is expected to rule Tomkins out on Saturday.
Mandanda is also expected to be unavailable because of his late arrival to preseason after being part of the France squad which reached the final of Euro 2016.
"We were a bit fortunate [with Townsend] because obviously there was a clause put in place if Newcastle were to be relegated and that probably hampered the price -- Newcastle could have perhaps got more,'' said Pardew.
The manager has also insisted Yannick Bolasie remains available for selection despite reports he is nearing a £30m transfer to Everton.
"Steve [Mandanda] has not been with us long but already you can see why he was captain of Marseille. He's got a tremendous character, tremendous confidence and he has affected us powerfully but in a small space of time.
"Tomkins has had an injury most of preseason. In the first game he got injured, so we haven't seen a lot of him on the field but he is back now and I know he is going to be a tremendous influence.
"We will have to wait and see on Saturday [whether Wayne Hennessey will still be first-choice goalkeeper] but [Mandanda] will build competition.''