MATT Derbyshire will be hoping to outshine Three Lions golden boy David Nugent as the England U21s today begin their bid for European Champ-ionship glory.

Rovers hot-shot Derbyshire is one of five strikers looking to be among the goals for England, who kick-start their campaign at 5.15pm in Arnhem, Netherlands, against the Czech Repubic.

The former Great Harwood Town forward, who bagged nine goals in 30 league and cup appearances for Rovers last term, will now be desperate to build on his incredible breakthrough season at Ewood Park by stealing the limelight for his country.

He is likely to face tough competition in Stuart Pearce's starting line-up though, with Preston marksman Nugent expected to lead the line at Vitesse Arnhem's Gelredome Arena, while Reading's Leroy Lita, Everton youngster James Vaughan and Aston Villa's Ashley Young are gunning for striker places.

But Derbyshire, now the sole Rovers representive in England's squad following David Bentley's much-publicised withdrawal, is proving a real hit among his national team colleagues.

Newcastle defender Steven Taylor revealed that Derbyshire receives plenty of training ground banter for his broad Lancashire background, while U21 skipper Nigel Reo-Coker has been nothing but impressed by the young Rovers striker.

Reo-Coker said: "Matt was called up for the first time against Spain following some great performances for Blackburn, but was injured before the squad met up so I didn't get chance to meet him.

"But he has been doing very well at Ewood Park this season, scoring goals too, so will be interesting to see how he does with the Under 21s."

Derbyshire has already opened his account for England's U21, scoring his country's final goal in the 3-3 draw against Italy at the new Wembley stadium back in March.

And he admitted he wanted to make a real impact for England in the European Championships.

"Hopefully, it's a big summer for me," said Derbyshire. "Hopefully I can get a couple of games in and score a few goals.

"It's all a learning curve for me at the moment but the more games I get at the highest level, the better I'm going to become as a player."

Meanwhile, Nugent has repeated his belief that he must play in the Premiership if he is to further his international career.

The striker has been linked with a move to the top flight this summer following Preston's failure to win promotion from the Championship.

Nugent scored on his senior debut in England's 3-0 European Championship qualifying win over Andorra in March - and wants to stay in the international picture.

The 22-year-old said: "I need to be in the Premiership and I've said that since the end of the season.

"I don't think anything is going to happen until the tournament is over and I've got to prove to people on the pitch now over these next three games - hopefully five games - that I'm good enough to play in the Premiership."