Is David Bentley the man to replace David Beckham?

Spurs 3 Fulham 1. Fabio Capello was at White Hart Lane to see Spurs come from behind against Fulham in the FA Cup quarter final and book a Wembley date with Portsmouth. But the question is, who was he there to watch?

In the Spurs starting line-up there was striker Peter Crouch, already a key member of his squad, and defender Michael Dawson, who has flirted with the national side and has England B and under-21 caps.

Representing Fulham was the great enigma Bobby Zamora. The striker is enjoying easily his best season in the Premier League and last night scored his 17th goal of the season, further strengthening his claims for an England call up - a prospect that would have been laughable at the start of the season.

Capello would have been impressed with the finish Zamora produced to give Fulham the lead in the first half. He surged into the box to meet onto Damien Duff's inch perfect through ball and swept the ball past Heurelho Gomes and into the bottom corner of the Spurs net with aplomb.

But by the time the full time whistle went, the Italian's thoughts could well have been concerned with another player altogether - Spurs sub David Bentley.

The winger, who started in Capello's first game as England manager, turned the game on its head in the second half. His first touch was a free kick on the left which he swung into the box, over the heads of the melee in the box and past a stranded Mark Schwarzer and into the net to make it 1-1.

Minutes later he made good progress down the right and sent in a deep cross that another sub, reborn striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, volleyed home to give Spurs the lead.

Eidur Gudjohnsen added a third when he rounded Schwarzer and Spurs were home and dry just 20 minutes after the break.

But it was Bentley who caught the eye. And his performance was reminiscent of another Englishman who has the same initials as him but who will not be travelling to South Africa as a player.

As a youngster, first with Arsenal and then Blackburn, Bentley was seen as the heir apparent to David Beckham thanks to a similar mastery of dead-ball situations and an ability to deliver telling crosses. But his career stalled after he moved to Spurs in 2008, and like Beckham in the England team, he faced stiff competition from Aaron Lennon for the right-wing berth.

But with Lennon's recovery from a groin problem taking longer than expected and a DB sized hole in the squad it could be Bentley's chance to make a late run for a call up for South Africa.

If Capello's plans for the tournament include taking a player who can act as an impact sub and who can put the ball on a plate for the strikers in the box, then Bentley could be the man. ·