Leicester coach Marcelo Loffreda insists Tom Varndell has all the qualities required to become an England regular after his hat-trick helped the Tigers to a 42-13 Guinness Premiership win over Harlequins.
After a tight first half, Leicester stormed to victory with versatile flanker Tom Croft capping another impressive display with two tries.
England head coach Brian Ashton will name his squad for the RBS 6 Nations Championship on Wednesday and both Varndell and Croft could feature heavily in the selection discussions.
Varndell won three caps under Andy Robinson but was exposed on the 2006 summer tour to Australia and suffered a bad slump in form. Leicester even shipped him out on loan to Bedford at one stage last season.
Competition for wingers in the England squad is fierce, with Varndell up against the likes of David Strettle, Paul Sackey, Josh Lewsey and Mark Cueto.
But Loffreda is convinced Varndell is mentally tougher than he was - and if that keeps improving he sees no reason why the 22-year-old cannot break back into the England fold.
"Tom was very good. He was man of the match today and he has everything he needs to be a top player in his position," said Loffreda.
"He is really working very hard to build his consistency and his concentration and he is getting better and better. That is what we are focusing on giving him at the club.
"Concentration in the international arena is the main thing. You can have the talent but if you are not focused in practice and in the preparation you will not perform well.
"Croft is very good. He has got better and better. He is really good.
"Both Toms have the qualities and the skills. If they get the concentration right they can be part of the England team, of course."
Leicester had been unconvincing in the first 40 minutes but held a 10-6 half-time lead after Varndell latched onto Andy Goode's chip to score under the posts.
The Tigers then destroyed Harlequins after the break, racing clear with 18 points in 13 minutes, including a long-range drop goal from Geordan Murphy.
Croft finished off an excellent team try and later claimed a cross-kick for his second, while Varndell scorched home for a 60-metre solo try and finished off a break from Aaron Mauger.
Harlequins director of rugby Dean Richards labelled his side's second-half collapse as "unnacceptable" as they slumped to an eighth defeat in 10 games.
But Richards, who won 48 caps in the England back row, had strong words of support for Croft's international claims.
"He is an outstanding talent. I think he is a really good player. He has everything. He might lack a little experience but you could throw him into the England team and I don't think it would hurt the England team at all.
"For us, there are very few positives we can take out of today. We knew we would be up against it but to implode as we did in the 20 minutes after half-time is unacceptable."
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