JOE BENNETT, who finds out on Monday whether he will spend much of the summer with the England Under-21s, has been tipped to go on to full international honours.

Bennett is one of three left-backs on stand-by to fly out to Denmark with Stuart Pearce’s squad after a competent first season in the Middlesbrough first team.

The 21-year-old’s performances have alerted a number of top clubs, with Liverpool known to be one of the Premier League outfits who have regularly been to watch him in action.

But he faces a 72-hour wait to learn whether he will be heading on international duty, with the likelihood that he would have to be included at the expense of either Chelsea’s Ryan Bertrand or Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs.

Both Gibbs and Bertrand have endured injury problems this season, while Bennett has completely recovered from a bout of mumps which prevented him finishing the campaign with Boro.

Whatever happens on Monday, however, Middlesbrough’s academy manager Dave Parnaby, who has watched the player develop through his teenage years, thinks he is destined for big things.

“Joe’s got a lot of facets of his make-up to develop and it’s still a long, long journey for him,” said Parnaby. “But he may be a star of the future both for Boro and for England. He can go on to be a really top player for the club and hopefully for his country.”

Bennett could be joined in the England Under-21 squad by team-mate Jason Steele, the goalkeeper having also overcome injury to thrust himself back into the spotlight just in time.

Watford’s Scott Loach has revealed he has not been included in the squad to travel to Denmark, meaning Pearce only has three goalkeepers left to call on for the championships.

Frankie Fielding, who has agreed to join Derby on July 1, and Reading’s Alex McCarthy are the two others at his disposal.

Aberdeen manager Craig Brown, meanwhile, has all but conceded defeat in his attempts to land released Middlesbrough midfielder Willo Flood.

Flood has been told he will not be getting a new contract at the Riverside when his contract expires next month and Brown had been in discussions to take him back to Scotland.

However, Brown said: “The Willo Flood move is not likely to happen. His agent approached me at the Scottish football writers’ dinner on Sunday and we met in Glasgow. Willo was there, too.

“We talked, but Flood is on a different financial plane from us and his wage requirements are three times more than what we would pay.”

n Former Middlesbrough striker Massimo Maccarone was one of three Sampdoria players criticised by a group of around 50 Sampdoria fans, who hurled insults during training, protesting against the club’s relegation from Serie A.