Jermaine Pennant aims to follow in Matthew Upson's footsteps after his �3m move from Arsenal to Birmingham. Upson has become a regular in the England set-up since leaving Highbury for St Andrews two years ago and winger Pennant, 22, hopes to emulate him.
"He left the same club and he's in the England squad," Pennant told BBC Sport.
"Just because I left Arsenal doesn't mean I'm taking any steps backwards. I'm taking real steps forward now in my career - this is the turning point."
Birmingham boss Steve Bruce has endorsed Pennant's optimism and feels he has the talent to play at the highest level.
 |  If there is a place in the England side I will take it |
"I believe that Jermaine has the ability and potential to become a fully-fledged international," he said.
"He now has to do what Matt Upson did when he came to us from Arsenal - in my mind, he has become the best left-sided central defender in England.
"We certainly saw Jermaine's potential at Everton last Saturday when he was the best player on the pitch.
"It is not often that you see a team take off a left-back as experienced as Allesandro Pistone, who was given such a merry dance."
Pennant has not ruled out breaking into Sven-Goran Eriksson's England squad before next year's World Cup in Germany.
"I obviously want to play international football and when the occasion comes around I will give it my best shot," he said.
"The World Cup is coming up and I just want to play as well as I can for Birmingham and see what happens.
"If there is a place in the England side I will take it."
MMIX
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