England set to benefit from Wright-Phillips switch

Lightning quick over 10 yards and with a cannon shot, winger Shaun Wright-Phillips will have to adapt his game to fit in at his new club, champions Chelsea.

Wright-Phillips, the step-son of former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright, made his international debut 11 months ago and could be England's trump card at the 2006 World Cup.

However, where to play the 23-year-old is the problem facing both big-spending Chelsea, who laid out £21 million for Wright-Phillips this week, and the national side.

Jose Mourinho's team deployed a 4-3-3 system last season with Damien Duff, Arjen Robben and Joe Cole acting as wingers with the freedom to roam behind a lone striker.

Now add to these three excellent players the exciting Wright-Phillips who has the pace, trickery and eye for goal to add potency to a side that lashed goals in from all quarters as Chelsea charged to their first title for 50 years.

The London-born winger made his mark with a string of explosive goals for City.

Former City and England manager Kevin Keegan, a similar size to Wright-Phillips with a similar eye for goal, rates the winger as one of the best performers in England today.

"I haven't seen a player like this in my time in the game," Keegan said in January after Wright-Phillips scored a blistering goal in a 1-1 draw at Arsenal.

"He has terrific balance, he's small but he can win the ball in the air."

Wright-Phillips notched 31 goals in more than 150 games for Manchester City, who finished eighth in the league last season, and he made his full debut in February against the Netherlands.

Keegan believes England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson cannot afford to leave out Wright-Phillips although the Swede, like Chelsea's Mourinho, has no obvious slot for him.

Wright-Phillips' place is held by captain David Beckham. Eriksson would have to change his 4-4-2 system to a 4-3-3 to accommodate the newcomer although any change would give Beckham more freedom.

Like Frank Lampard and Joe Cole before him, Wright-Phillips is almost certain to improve by leaps and bounds at Stamford Bridge which would leave Eriksson with a tough selection decision once the squad arrives in Germany next year.