Macdonald saw the £35 million Liverpool striker flourish during his time at Newcastle and is certain that Carroll has what it takes to help England head coach Capello ensure the national side prosper.

“It’s fair to say that there is a dearth of talent when it comes to attacking options with the England team so Andy Carroll must be manna from heaven to Capello because he is desperately in need of someone of his quality,” Macdonald told Telegraph Sport.

“I represented England over a span of four year and I once counted all the other forwards who were in and around the squad in those days and it came to total of 22 players so the competition was intense.

“Nowadays there are just a few international-class strikers – Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Darren Bent and Wayne Rooney – but Capello will now know that in Carroll he has at his disposal someone who would not only lead the line but would score goals as well.”

Thanks to his role as a radio presenter on Tyneside, Macdonald, a former Arsenal and Newcastle striker, witnessed Carroll go from a rookie striker on Tyneside to become the most expensive British footballer in history when he headed to Liverpool two months ago.

With Carroll due to partner Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney in the England attack in his competitive debut for the senior side against Wales in their Euro 2012 qualifier on Saturday in Cardiff, Macdonald said the 6ft 4in Geordie could establish himself as the focal point of Capello’s attack.

“The way things look Andy can have a long, prosperous England career,” added Macdonald, who scored six goals in 14 games for England during the 1970s and established a record by scoring all the goals in a 5-0 rout of Cyprus at Wembley.

“But it will need all the England players to work hard around Carroll to make him welcome into the squad and to expand his knowledge of the game beyond the Premiership.

“He has an awful lot of hard work to do at Liverpool so at England level the coaching staff and his more experienced colleagues must make it as easy as possible for him to acclimatise to senior international football.”