GARY Cahill has all the attributes to be a future England captain.

That's the view of his former Wanderers team-mate, and fellow Yorkshireman, Kevin Davies.

Cahill won his 32nd cap as England maintained their 100 per cent winning start to the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a 3-1 victory over Slovenia at Wembley on Saturday.

It was a ninth successive start for the centre-back who has played every minute of the qualifying campaign so far and Davies is pleased to see his former colleague establishing himself as a mainstay in the national side.

And he believes he is captain material and high up in the pecking order to one day follow Wayne Rooney as skipper.

Speaking exclusively to The Bolton News, Davies said: "He is getting better all the time and that is backed up by talk of him one day being in line for the England captaincy.

"He looks to be the next name in contention after Wayne Rooney.

"It’s great to see him where he is now and the level he is at.

"All that hard work over the years has paid off.

"He has had spells on loan at Burnley and Sheffield United and has earned his way to the top level.

"He was fantastic for Bolton and it is no surprise to see him doing so well at Chelsea and collecting all those medals – I think he’s nearly got them all now.

"He’s a great lad as well."

Davies, who himself played for England during his time with the Whites, thinks success at club level and regular top-level football at Chelsea has improved Cahill's game even further since he left Wanderers for £7million in January 2012.

And he says having the experience of Blues skipper John Terry alongside him in the backline has helped that development since his intyernational debut against Bulgaria in September 2010.

Davies added: "I think playing alongside John Terry at Chelsea has helped – he has been a good influence on him.

"John has been one of the best and most consistent centre-halves around for many years.

"It’s a shame they aren’t still playing together for England really because they work well together."

Cahill is likely to be at the heart of the defence again as England head to Celtic Park for what promises to be a hostile reception from the Scottish crowd as the two rivals meet in a friendly north of the border for the first time in 15 years.

And as one of the older heads in the side, despite being just 28 years old, Davies says the defender who made almost 150 appearances in four years with Wanderers has added responsibility under Roy Hodgson.

Davies said: "It is testing times for England.

"There are a lot of young players coming through now.

"Phil Jagielka is there alongside Gary at the back but there are not as many experienced defenders in there now with the likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand not in there anymore.

"I think we are still lacking really in that department of having quality English centre-halves.

"There are not too many old heads in there.

"You have younger ones like (John) Stones and (Calum) Chambers but they are still inexperienced at that level.

"Gary is one of the senior figures now passing down his knowledge.

"I always regard him as being young but he is one of the experienced players in there now."