FRANCK QUEUDRUE wants Stewart Downing to earn an England seniors call-up after proving he has all the credentials to fill Sven-Goran Eriksson's left side by hitting top form at Middlesbrough.

Downing has attracted the attention of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson on more than one occasion and added fuel to the speculation by starring and scoring in the draw at Old Trafford 11 days ago.

The 20-year-old Under-21 international is tied to a long-term deal and Middlesbrough have no intentions of allowing one of the country's hottest properties to leave - with a swap deal with Phil Neville mentioned.

Downing's agent, Ian Elliott, insists they know nothing of United's interest and that his player is concentrating on keeping his first-team shirt at Middlesbrough.

Full-back Queudrue, who plays down the left flank with the young winger, believes his teammate is going to become a household name on both the club and international stage.

And the Frenchman, who could line up alongside Downing again at Blackburn on Saturday, said: "Everybody knows about his quality and his pace. His crosses are good for the strikers and he brings plenty of good play to our team and deserves to be in the national team.

"Stewart Downing has a great mentality and he doesn't give up. Even if a player has a great reputation Stewart doesn't care, he has the quality to beat him and if he keeps his head straight he will go further."

Downing faces competition from Bolo Zenden for the place on the left wing and Queudrue insists both men possess different qualities.

He said: "Bolo likes to have the ball and go one on one. That's just what he prefers.

"But I know when Stew's on the field I must try to put the ball into the corner, in behind the defender, because I know Stew can beat him for pace and then he will deliver."

Strikers Jimmy Floyd Hasselabaink (hamstring) and Mark Viduka (back and hamstring) are back in training and are likely to be in contention for a comeback on Saturday.

* Middlesbrough's teenage goalkeeper Ross Turnbull has rejoined Barnsley on a month's loan.

* Middlesbrough have advised supporters that tickets for next week's UEFA Cup group game with Egaleo will not be on sale from today, as had been planned. Boro's allocation of 1,900 tickets for the tie, priced £35 each, will now be made available as soon as Boro receive them from the Athens-based club, though it is anticipated it could be Monday before they now go on sale.

l Fulham midfielder Claus Jensen is hoping to soon be back in action with the Cottagers.

The £1.25m summer signing from Charlton made a promising start to the campaign before a combination of a calf injury and the recurrence of a back problem sidelined him at the end of August.