I was quite surprised to read in yesterday’s papers that Emile Heksey had said he will have to consider his Aston Villa future in January should he not be getting more game time. He’s always struck me as a rather smart foootballer who would rather not get caught up in the media transfer firestorm.

Lo and behold, it didn’t take long for someone to link him with Fulham. There was a brief discussion of this idea on the radio this morning (so short that I only managed to catch the tail end of it). Hodgson obviously likes the big man, shorter man combination – that’s why he’s been so keen to play Zamora and Andy Johnson together. Heskey’s probably a better forward (to borrow Nick’s description) than Zamora but you’ll still be left with the same problem – he’s not likely to bag you all that many goals.

If Capello is to be as strict with his requirements for his World Cup squad, then Heskey probably needs to be playing regular first-team football to make the plane to South Africa. But Capello’s insistence that he’ll be picking the England team based on form makes Darren Bent’s exclusion something of a mystery. Martin O’Neill likes Heskey and may well give a bit more of a go at Villa Park but, in the event, that the forward decides to leave – where would he go?

None of the ‘big four’ are likely to be clamouring for his signature and I shouldn’t imagine Spurs or Manchester City will be banging down the door. Would David Moyes be tempted given Everton’s striking problems? A fee of £3m – as quoted in the press today – would fit our budget but whether it happens is anyone’s guess.

Of course, England have never won the World Cup without a Fulham player in the team.