Pennant targeting England call-up
Jermaine Pennant aims to follow in Matthew Upson's footsteps after his £3m move from Arsenal to Birmingham.
Upson has become a regular in the England set-up since leaving Highbury for St Andrews two years ago and winger Pennant, 22, hopes to emulate him.
He left the same club and he's in the England squad
"Just because I left Arsenal doesn't mean I'm taking any steps backwards. I'm taking real steps forward now in my career - this is the turning point."
Birmingham boss Steve Bruce has endorsed Pennant's optimism and feels he has the talent to play at the highest level.
If there is a place in the England side I will take it
Jermaine Pennant
"I believe that Jermaine has the ability and potential to become a fully-fledged international," he said.
"He now has to do what Matt Upson did when he came to us from Arsenal - in my mind, he has become the best left-sided central defender in England.
"We certainly saw Jermaine's potential at Everton last Saturday when he was the best player on the pitch.
"It is not often that you see a team take off a left-back as experienced as Allesandro Pistone, who was given such a merry dance."
Pennant has not ruled out breaking into Sven-Goran Eriksson's England squad before next year's World Cup in Germany.
"I obviously want to play international football and when the occasion comes around I will give it my best shot," he said.
"The World Cup is coming up and I just want to play as well as I can for Birmingham and see what happens.
"If there is a place in the England side I will take it."
