John Terry believes that Michael Mancienne has the potential to follow his England call-up by returning to Chelsea and competing for a first-team place. The England captain has watched Mancienne grow up in his shadow at the club over the past decade and witnessed his increasing appetite for regular action lead to his impressive loan spell with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Mancienne, 20, has been with Chelsea since the age of 8, when he was watched in training with Kingstonian. Despite a relatively slender build for a central defender – he is 11st 6lb and barely 6ft – the Isleworth-born player has been among the best players in the England Under21 team since making his debut 15 months ago and has been in commanding form since helping Wolves to return to the top of the Coca-Cola Championship. Having played primarily at right back during his two loan spells with Queens Park Rangers, before returning to sign a new three-year contract with Chelsea, Mancienne has been playing in the centre for Wolves and the under21s, where his spring and his ability to come out and steal possession has caught the eye.

Terry revealed that he and Frank Lampard had discussed Mancienne’s progress with Stuart Pearce, the England Under21 head coach, who also works alongside Fabio Capello, so he was not surprised to hear of his call-up to the seniors. “Give young lads experience and we all gain from that,” the England and Chelsea captain said. “His form has been fantastic for Wolves – they’ve had three wins since he’s been there. He’s got a bright future.”

Terry himself went out on loan to Nottingham Forest early in his career before returning to become the mainstay of the Chelsea and England defences. “He will get his chance, I’m sure,” Terry said. “When you go out on loan you have to stand on your own two feet and deal with things. He has the same [adviser] as me and we sent him up there on his own to let him get on with it. If he can play football regularly for Wolves, he has a chance to come back and do it at Chelsea.”

Mancienne may not have made a first-team appearance for Chelsea, indicating last month that he may have to leave next summer if he has not broken through, but his talent has not gone unnoticed. Having signed his first professional contract with Chelsea in 2006, he has played for England at all levels since the under16s, captaining the under17s.

He admits that his position is not the easiest to earn him substitute appearances and that, amid interest from West Ham United and Fulham, he would be tempted to join Wolves, where he is on loan until after Christmas, on a permanent basis if he were to help them to promotion. He is indebted to his sister, Charlotte, for his distinctive plaited hairstyle. “It takes 2½ hours,” he said. “Maybe it makes me stand out on the pitch.” His form is doing that for him now.