SPL: Sutton set for England call-up?

Celtic striker Chris Sutton could be set for a place in the England side for the decisive World Cup qualifier against Greece next month.

Sven-Goran Eriksson's assistant, Tord Grip, will watch Sutton in Celtic's Champions League group match against Porto on Tuesday night.

England are in the hunt for a replacement for Michael Owen, who was ruled out of the Greece match after picking up a hamstring injury playing for Liverpool on Saturday.

Former Norwich, Blackburn and Chelsea hitman Sutton will have to force his way past the likes of Emile Heskey, Robbie Fowler and Andy Cole to gain a place in the starting line-up.

But Sutton has been in awesome form for the Scottish champions this season, scoring four goals including a towering header against Ajax that helped seal qualification for the Champions League group stages.

It has prompted Eriksson and Grip to keep a close eye on the 28-year-old.

Grip told a Scottish tabloid: "We will watch Chris on Tuesday. Myself or Sven will try to get to Glasgow but if we don't one of our staff will definitely be at the game.

"Of course he has a chance to play for England. It's possible he could be in the squad for Greece because he's good enough for international football.

"Chris has had a great start to the season and we are interested in all good English strikers. It doesn't matter that he plays in the Scottish league."

He added: "I have always liked Chris as a player and was aware of him when he was at Blackburn. While he did not have a good time at Chelsea, he has been a good player for Celtic."