Bent concedes Rooney is an automatic choice for one of the forward roles, although the Manchester United star has been ruled out of Wednesday's friendly international with Germany in Berlin through injury.

But the Tottenham player is keen to resurrect his own international career after having his confidence restored by the arrival of Harry Redknapp at White Hart Lane as Juande Ramos' successor last month.

Bent said: "There is definitely a vacancy for a goalscorer. I have always been a firm believer that, if you can score a lot of goals for your club, then you can do it for your country.

"That is especially the case with England given the calibre of players in the squad who can create chances.

"Wayne Rooney has been fantastic for England for a number of years and it does look like the rest of us are all fighting away for one spot.

"As long as I can keep myself fit, score as many goals as I can and play well, it will only stand me in good stead."

Bent is hoping the Redknapp factor can help him with his England aspirations in the same way as with Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch at Portsmouth.

He said: "Harry helped Crouch and Defoe get back into the England set-up after going to Portsmouth and they are playing really well.

"Jermain was in a similar position to me at Tottenham where he was not playing too much, then went to Portsmouth and now he can't stop scoring.

"Now Harry has come to Tottenham and funnily enough I've got back into the England squad. He is a fantastic manager and he is a man manager who keeps things simple."

Bent's last appearance for England was as a substitute against Croatia 12 months ago and boss Fabio Capello has been quick to stress what he expects from the former Charlton player.

He said: "I've spoken to Fabio quite a lot since I've been here and he told me what he thinks of me as a player and what he wants from me and I have responded to that.

"As long as I know what direction I am going in and how I am doing, I should be fine. The relationship is good. He has told me why he picked me in the squad and things like that.

"As a player that is what you want, how the manager sees you rather than there being no communication whatsoever. He wants me to play my own game and not over-complicate things."