West Bromwich Albion's super striker Ishmael Miller has been rewarded for his outstanding performances this season with his first England Under-21 call up.
The Manchester City forward, who has scored nine goals since moving on loan to The Hawthorns, yesterday linked up with former boss Stuart Pearce ahead of the two UEFA Championship matches.
The Under 21s face Bulgaria at MK Dons this evening and then travel to Portugal for Tuesday night's match in confident mood having won their first four qualifiers without conceding a goal.
Miller, whose combination of pace and power have made him the perfect foil for Kevin Phillips, has benefited from the withdrawal of Birmingham City's Cameron Jerome who had surgery on a hernia problem earlier this week.
While the call up is good news on one hand for Albion, on the other it could present manager Tony Mowbray with further problems should the striker pick up an injury.
It will also raise Miller's profile and do nothing to improve any hopes Albion have of keeping him in the event of promotion.
Meanwhile Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock is the latest Championship manager to be linked with a move for Albion midfielder Richard Chaplow.
The former Burnley player has also been connected with Ipswich Town although Warnock's counterpart at Portman Road, Jim Magilton, has dampened speculation about Chap-low's future.
"We are aware of Richard, but this is as far as it has gone. Something might happen in January, but we are showing no interest at the moment," Magilton said.
That could leave the way clear for Warnock who has confirmed he will be looking to add to a squad that needs considerable fortification.
Chaplow was given the chance to solve Albion's ball winning problems in midfield last season but has since slipped behind Robert Koren and Felipe Teixeira and has not played for almost two months.
