World Football: Will The Rolls Royce of England Make Way For David Bentley?

Since he burst onto the stage of the footballing world as a fresh-faced 17-year-old in 1993, David Beckham has been a superstar. Since his debut for England in 1996, he has established himself as an important member of the England set-up.

After 101 caps, Beckham has propelled his name alongside the greats. He has become an England legend and footballing royalty in this country.

His 10 years at Man United won't be forgotten quickly by anyone involved with the club or the EPL, for that matter. He has a place in the hearts of many Real Madrid fans as well, after helping them to an unlikely La Liga title in his last season in Spain.

But as Beckham's glorious career is coming to a head, another one could just be beginning.

Often touted as "the next David Beckham" by media, fans, and managers alike, David Bentley has a lot of pressure on his shoulders to live up to the hype.

On Wednesday night, Bentley replaced Beckham for England against USA. Beckham is still the man, but for how much longer?

Bentley is certainly breathing down his neck, and hasn't missed many chances to exclaim his desire to make that right midfield position his own.

He's not the only one that could take over that spot on the right side, however. When Beckham decides to pack it in, or when Capello decides he is surplus to requirements, there are many more who will be hoping to fill the void.

Joe Cole, Aaron Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips and others all have a claim to the position, but it's the amount of similarities between Beckham and Bentley that have drawn the comparisons.

Both have a knack for dead-ball situations, with very similar techniques in striking the ball. For their respective clubs, they are the first player over every free-kick and corner.

Neither have blistering pace, but have bags full of determination, desire, and crossing ability.

And the similarities continue off the pitch.

Both have had their fair share of time in the media, with Beckham seemingly never out of the spotlight, and Bentley often getting himself into it.

Both have also had low points in their respective careers. Who could forget Beckham's kick in the '98 World Cup? And Bentley was swimming in controversy after he alleged refused to play for the England U-21's, claiming fatigue.

Of course, these comparisons seem one-sided towards Beckham, but you have to remember that Beckham is nearing the end of his career, while Bentley's is  just starting to kick off.

However, if Bentley wants to emulate Beckham, he may need to make a move to a big team soon. By the age Bentley is now (23), Beckham had won a PFA Young Player of the Year award, and had been named to a World Cup All-Star team.

Of course, Bentley hasn't been involved in a World Cup, but he hasn't even established himself as a first-team regular for England yet.

By the age of 23, Beckham had also won two Premier League titles, as well as two runner-up medals, an FA Cup winners medal and runner-up medal, four Community Shield titles and an FA Youth Cup.

The next year, he won the treble.

Whether Bentley can reach the extraordinary heights that Beckham has remains to be seen. Beckham is the biggest footballer commercially of all time. He's probably the most famous as well.

He hasn't gone off the rails like so many other big names (Gazza and Best come to mind). This is mainly to do with the fact that he had such good guidance as a youngster. Under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson he, along with other youngsters, has always stayed on the right path.

This helped with his off-the-pitch life, and coupled with the coaching ability at Manchester United, he was always going to have a good career.

I think Bentley needs to make a move to a bigger club soon. He has a long way to go to get anywhere near Beckham, but the potential is there.

If he makes the right choices, who knows, in 10 or 15 years we could be talking about Bentley being footballing royalty as well.

But before then, he needs to make the transition from star to superstar.