West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has heaped praise on midfielder Stewart Downing and feels the 30-year-old is the best midfielder in the Premier League on current form.

Downing, a £5million signing from Liverpool in August 2013, has enjoyed a solid start to the season, assisting three of his side’s goals and scoring once.

“I don’t think there is anybody playing in midfield that is better than Stewart Downing,” said the Hammers boss. “He was my man of the match against QPR. The confidence is growing again in Stewart and he’s showing his quality.”

Now his club manager has tipped the midfielder, who is operating in more of a ‘roaming role’ than his usual wing position, to get an England call up, saying that Downing would be “another choice for Roy Hodgson”.

The former Middlesbrough and Aston Villa midfielder has won 34 caps for his country, the last of which came in a 1-0 victory over Norway in 2012.

West Ham currently find themselves in seventh position in the Premier League, just a point away from fourth place.

After the international break West Ham take on struggling Burnley at Turf Moor followed by the visit of reigning champions Manchester City.

The Hammers are 2.65 to beat Burnley on October 18 and 5.03 to get an unlikely victory against Manchester City a week later.