Hatem Trabelsi does not believe it will be long before Manchester City team-mate Micah Richards ousts Gary Neville from the England side on a regular basis.

Richards made his international bow against Holland last month, standing in for Neville who had withdrawn because of a troublesome calf problem.

Although the long-serving Manchester United defender will almost certainly return for the friendly against Spain on February 7, Richards did enough in Amsterdam to confirm his reputation as one of the most talented teenagers in the game.

And, on the eve of the first Manchester derby of the current campaign, Trabelsi feels it will not be long before Neville is yesterday's man.

"Micah now has more chance playing for England because he is only 18," the Tunisian World Cup star told the Manchester Evening News.

"He is England's future not Gary Neville."

Trabelsi should know a thing or two about right-back expertise, given that is the position he occupied for most of his career at Ajax.

While he accepts Richards is nowhere near the finished article yet, the 29-year-old thinks the signs are extremely encouraging.

"Micah is a good player," he said.

"He wants to learn, he is always busy to discover something new and to be perfect.

"In my opinion if he keeps working like that he is going to be one of the best right-backs in Europe and the world.

"He just has to learn to concentrate on one or two things and then everything for him will be top."