Rafael Benitez has urged England boss Sam Allardyce not to ignore the talent in the Championship as he looks to rebuild after a disastrous Euro 2016 finals campaign.
Newcastle boss Benitez has seen Jonjo Shelvey, who won the last of his six senior caps in November last year, rediscover his best form in the second tier in recent weeks, scoring twice -- the second of them a stunning strike -- in the Magpies' 6-0 demolition of QPR on Tuesday.
Asked if it was a realistic ambition for the 24-year-old midfielder, who sealed a £12 million switch from Swansea to St James' Park in January, to win back his place in the England squad, the Spaniard said: "If he can keep his consistency now, if he can keep working as hard as he was working and playing at the level he has been playing, then why not?
"And not just him, any player. The Championship is a very good level now. There are a lot of good English players in this league.
"You don't have too many in the Premier League. Every year in every country -- it's the same in Spain -- everybody is complaining, saying there are too many foreign players coming and we don't have any space for the English players.
"You have fewer in the Premier League, but you have more in the Championship.''
As well as Shelvey, Aston Villa starlet Jack Grealish has been identified as a future talent after opting to represent England rather than the Republic of Ireland, while seven members of the 22-strong under-20s squad which lost 2-1 to Brazil earlier this month are currently with Championship clubs.
Asked if Allardyce and his staff should take notice of what is going on below the Premier League, Benitez said: "You have a lot of media, TV and people at the game who can give you reports, so if someone scores a goal like Jonjo did at QPR and everybody is talking about him, then I'm sure he will have the information to see if Jonjo can stay at this level, or if any of the other players can.''