Gianfranco Zola has packed Carlton Cole off on international duty with high praise ringing in his ears after a bright display at the weekend.
The 25-year-old striker was tireless against SSC Napoli on Saturday, particularly up against one of Italy's rising defensive stars Fabio Santacroce in what proved a physical contest. Buoyed by that display, Cole will hope to add to his two England caps with the friendly against the Netherlands in Amsterdam this Wednesday.
Zola said: "Carlton Cole is no surprise for me any more. For me some of the bits that he does are unbelievable. A bit in the first half near the corner flag was a piece of skill that not many players can do.
"Carlton Cole is improving day-by-day his presence and his confidence. He was exceptional and I was very pleased with his performance."
The manager has spoken previously of the need to get in more forward support for Cole, especially with Dean Ashton's continued absence. The second half did see a chance for some younger players to impress with Zavon Hines getting a late run while Fabio Daprela, Olly Lee and Frank Nouble were all unused substitutes.
Zola, who hopes Valon Behrami will be in full training in the next two to three weeks, said: "We have a couple of players who are doing very well and might get a chance in the future. It depends how the season will go if they will have opportunities.
"This club is a club that wants to get good players and climb the table but we always leave an open door for the young players coming through too. Last year, it was a case of Junior Stanislas, James Tomkins and Jack Collison and hopefully there will be some more players coming through."