Venables said: “Jamie has been outstanding this term. It will always be tempting to play him at the back to accommodate him, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.
“Jamie was our best defender in that system in Croatia and I have no doubts he could cope with the left-back job.
“In fact, he could occupy any back-four position, plus holding midfielder. With work on the training field, I’m confident he could operate much as Claude Makelele does for Chelsea.”
