Although Fabio Capello has not been convinced by the extent of Owen's fitness over the past 12 months, Sir Alex Ferguson was happy enough to bring the former Liverpool frontman out of the wilderness last month.

His reward has been a series of impressive pre-season performances even if, with Capello watching from the stands, Owen fluffed four excellent opportunities to score against Valencia at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Tomorrow Capello will give his first indication of what he thinks of Owen's move when he names his squad for Wednesday's friendly against Holland in Amsterdam.

The odds would still appear to be against a recall, purely because Owen is yet to play a competitive game for the Red Devils.

However, former Three Lions skipper and current United ambassador Bryan Robson feels the 29-year-old could prove to be a big threat in South Africa next summer.

"People have put big question marks over Michael Owen but he has always been a top drawer player," said Robson.

"He knows what he is doing around the box and if he gets chances, he will score goals.

"This move gives him a great opportunity to get back into the England squad."

England's fourth highest goalscorer has been stuck on 40 for almost two years now, his form and confidence draining away during the troubles Newcastle are still not out of.

Indeed, Owen's form was so bad, some pundits suggested his days as a top-line player were over.

Owen has robustly denied such accusations. And Robson still believes he has plenty to offer as well, especially with Wayne Rooney as a regular team-mate.

"At Newcastle the team were having a bad time, which did not suit Michael's game," observed Robson.

"He had to keep coming back to the halfway line because the opposition had more possession.

"At United he will be on the front foot because they always have more of the ball, which just plays to his strengths.

"His timing and intelligence at finding space is as good as anyone's in the game.

"Four years ago, people were raving about Owen and Rooney when they played together, so it would be a real bonus for everybody if they could get going like that again."

Aside from the dilemma over Owen, the most interesting aspect of Capello's latest squad will be his goalkeeping trio.

Robert Green got the job for the less-than-taxing World Cup double-header against Kazakhstan and Andorra, yet there is an argument for the West Ham star not even making the squad this time around.

David James is Capello's established number one and has now recovered from a shoulder operation, so his selection would appear automatic.

The same could also be said of Manchester United's Ben Foster, who would almost certainly have been James' replacement had he not also been forced to have surgery on a thumb problem.

It means that Green will probably be battling it out with Joe Hart for the third goalkeeping slot.

Hart was an England regular - making his debut in the friendly win over Trinidad and Tobago in June 2008 - but lost his place when Shay Given arrived from Newcastle to oust him from the Manchester City side.

However, his loan move to Birmingham is bound to bring him back into contention, even if it would be extremely harsh on Green if he was shunted out at this stage.

Joleon Lescott's participation depends on the hip injury he suffered during Everton's trip to the United States, so Bolton's Gary Cahill is standing by.

Of the squad Capello had on duty for the six-goal win over Andorra, that made it seven wins from seven in qualification to leave England one win away from joining the Dutch in booking their berth in South Africa, Gary Neville is definitely out with a groin injury.