Above: Sir Alex Ferguson is tipping Danny Welbeck to be a star at Euro 2012

Sir Alex Ferguson is backing Danny Welbeck to step into Wayne Rooney’s role for England at Euro 2012.

Rooney has been suspended by UEFA for the three group matches next summer after his sending off against Montenegro.

And while Fergie refused to directly discuss his star striker’s international ban, the Manchester United boss made it clear Welbeck, 20, could spearhead England’s attack.

Fergie also claimed that there is a “bonus” for England through the development at United of Welbeck, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Tom Cleverley, just as there was with the class of ‘92 – David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers Gary and Phil.

The United boss said: “As a kid here at nine years of age, Danny was always an outstanding talent, but we had to be patient with him on the physical part because he grew very quickly and became gangly and weak.

“Through that, he suffered quite a few injuries in the knees, simply because of his growth.

“But you see him now and he is a big powerful lad and, physically, he’s fine. I think he is ready for it with England.

"He’s got a talent as good as any forward in the English game.

“And I think he’s almost certain to get his chance now. I wouldn’t want Fabio Capello to go softly with him. He is 20 and has great belief in himself – he’s a confident lad.

“Danny is ready for international level now – I have no doubt. His tactical awareness will develop and he’s certainly got the technical skills.”

Fergie then brought Jones, Smalling and Cleverley into the equation and said: “They’ll form the nucleus of my team, so somewhere along the line, playing for us leads to England and that doesn’t bother me.

“Coming from the one team, it’s a bonus for England.

“They are very close, having been with the Under-21s for a long time and they all stay near to each other in the Cheshire area and seem to be very good friends.

“They are a nice group with a good sense of humility and they are decent types of boys with intelligence.

“They have similar dedication and commitment to the boys in the 90s, but that was a different group. They were all local boys, apart from Beckham, but David was coming up here from London from being 12 years of age.

“You can’t do that now because of academy rules.”

The FA, meanwhile, will decide this week whether to appeal against Rooney’s increased suspension.

They will study UEFA’s explanation for extending the ban from one match to three and weigh up the risk of an appeal being rejected and Rooney’s punishment being further increased as a result of fighting the decision.

The FA have three days to inform UEFA if they want to appeal – and so far they haven’t heard back from the European body – and would then have a further six days to actually submit it.