Peter Crouch's Move Will Delight Fabio Capello

News of Peter Crouch's impending transfer to Portsmouth will please at least one person outside of the confines of Fratton Park.

Fabio Capello will be looking on with interest at the prospect of Crouch linking up with his England colleague Jermain Defoe, hoping that the two players can create a club-level partnership that can be transferred to the international scene.

Both Defoe and Crouch have been bit-part players in the England set up over the last few years. They have never really done enough to cement themselves as permanent fixtures in the national side, with Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen being the preferred front-line choices when fit.

Defoe has only recently earned a recall to the international scene. This decision was a result of the scintillating form he has showed for Portsmouth since his move from Tottenham in January. His eight goals in 12 appearances have proved that the shortage of first team action suffered by him at White Hart Lane in recent seasons has done nothing to diminish his ability, or confidence.  

Crouch has won more England caps than Defoe in recent years, and his 14 goals in 28 games look impressive on paper, but herein lay Crouch's major criticism.

Pundits and fans alike point to the low level of opposition (Macedonia, Jamaica, Andorra, and Trinidad and Tobago) that the majority of these goals have been scored against. The suggestion is that Crouch is unable to perform to the same level against the higher level opposition.

What people tend not to realise, though, is that Crouch was actually England's top scoring player throughout their unsuccessful Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with five goals. It is alright to suggest that Crouch only scores against opposition of lower quality, but someone has to score the goals to beat these teams. The statistics suggests that there is no Englishman better able to do this than Crouch at this moment in time.

Crouch and Defoe have rarely played together, but all the signs are there that the players will complement each other's styles to create a prolific partnership. Crouch's ability to hold the ball up and flick it on coupled with Defoe's ability to get in behind defences will make Premier League teams wary. 

The chance for Crouch and Defoe to form a partnership at club level is an appetising thought for Pompey and England fans alike. If they can "click," then the prospect of England's first real strike partnership of any significant quality since the Shearer-Sheringham combination may be just around the corner.

Fingers crossed.