England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce says he will nurture midfielder Jack Wilshere in the same way he did with his Arsenal team-mate Theo Walcott.
Wilshere, 17, has impressed with Arsenal over the past 12 months and could yet force his way into senior England coach Fabio Capello's plans.
"Time will tell and his ability will come to the fore," said Pearce.
Pearce was speaking ahead of his side's opening European Championship qualifier against Macedonia on Friday.
"I'll make sure I protect him as much as I can," added Pearce.
There is no doubt about it the boy has some fantastic talent
Stuart Pearce
"He'll come through in his own good time. There is no point in me lauding him up and talking about senior football at the moment.
"The first port of call is getting in your club side. He is at a very good club side. On top of that he needs to get in the Under-21 side and perform there. From there, who knows?"
Walcott is now an established member of England manager Capello's squad.
The Arsenal winger was also part of Pearce's squad that lost to Germany Under-21s in the final of the European Championships in Sweden two months ago.
Of Capello's current squad, James Milner has the record caps for the Under-21s, while Glen Johnson, Aaron Lennon, Ashley Young and Carlton Cole have experience at that level.
And Pearce feels that with the right guidance Wilshere could follow.
Pearce's side face Macedonia on Friday
"One player gets singled out of my squad, normally a very young one," said Pearce.
"It was Theo, Theo, Theo all the time. What we said then was 'give Theo time to mature'.
"[Wilshere's] got to try to win a place in this Under-21 team at the moment - and he's got to try to win a place in Arsenal's team at the moment.
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