Neil Lennon hopes to tie Fraser Forster to a permanent deal at Celtic and believes the goalkeeper now has to be considered for a place in the England squad.
The 23-year-old is in his second loan spell from Newcastle and has won rave reviews for his performances this season.
Lennon, speaking ahead of Saturday's Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Inverness at Parkhead, said: "We have had communication with his agent, I've had a chat with Fraser and we hope we can get something sorted out in the near future.
"You are never confident on these things but we have made our approach and told him how we see things and that we want him here.
"It is basically down to his agent, himself and Peter (Lawwell, chief executive) to get a contract resolved."
Asked about a possible England call-up for Forster, the Irishman replied: "Well, why not? I look at some of the other goalkeepers who have been involved in the England squad...
"I think Joe Hart is outstanding, I think he is clearly the England number one but the way Fraser is progressing...
"I wouldn't want to throw him in too early, but the way he is playing, why not?"
Lennon does not know who the next England manager will be but hopes he does not ignore Forster and the other English players at Celtic Park.
The Hoops boss has international stars from all over the world in his squad but Forster, striker Gary Hooper and stopper Kelvin Wilson have yet to be capped for the Three Lions.
England interim boss Stuart Pearce was at Tynecastle on Wednesday night to see Forster, Wilson and Hooper help Celtic hammer Hearts 4-0 with the former Scunthorpe player grabbing his 17th goal of the season.
However, it is believed by some that playing in Scotland hampered the chances of Alan Thompson, Lennon's coach and former team-mate at Celtic, from adding to his one England cap.
Lennon said: "Just because they play in Scotland doesn't mean to say they are not good enough to play international football.
"I have a squad full of international players, South Koreans, Hondurans, Mexicans, Irish and Scottish, so why not English?"
On the prospect of Hooper's chances of attracting the attention of the next England manager, Lennon said:
"I think he is in a good place at the minute. I think he is playing brilliantly. He has been very consistent the last three or four months.
"He had a wee spell where he might have been carrying a knock and his form dipped a little bit and we took him out of the firing line but he has never looked back since.
"With regards to England, again, I don't see the top quality England players play week-in, week-out, but I know he is a very talented young English player."
Lennon revealed he had sympathy for Fabio Capello, who resigned as England manager on Wednesday night after publicly challenging the FA's decision to go over his head and strip John Terry of the England captaincy.
He said: "He is a man of principle. From what I hear he is quite strict and has good values.
"I think he felt very let down by what went on. I think he has a very valid point."
Interference from above was also an issue in Scotland this week.
Kilmarnock boss Kenny Shiels and his Hearts counterpart Paulo Sergio became embroiled in a slanging match after Shiels questioned Sergio for accepting a directive from the Gorgie board which prevented him from playing his number one keeper Marian Kello.
Lennon admits he would have a problem with boardroom interference.
"I would find it a very difficult thing to do," he said.
"When you are brought in as a manager you look after the football side of things.
"But the game has changed so much since I started playing. It used to be in years gone by the manager ran the whole thing, if you think of the likes of Brian Clough and people like that.
"But nowadays it is a different sort of set-up with directors of football, recruitment staff and that sort of thing.
"Some decisions are taken out of the manager's hands and you have to go with the flow sometimes.
"If you really feel you can make a difference at a club, you have to respect the rules that are in place."
In a press conference which jumped from topic to topic, Lennon told Aberdeen boss Craig Brown not to be "embarrassed" about picking up the Clydesdale Bank Premier League manager of the month award for January, a month in which the Hoops won each of their five matches.
He said: "Craig shouldn't be embarrassed at all. I think he has done a brilliant job over the last few weeks.
"Only a couple of months ago Aberdeen were propping up the table and he was under enormous pressure.
"He has lifted the team up five or six positions and they are still in the Scottish Cup so he is thoroughly deserving of the award."
Finally addressing the visit of Inverness, whom Celtic beat 2-0 in their William Hill Scottish Cup fifth-round last week, Lennon said: "People were critical of Inverness but it takes away from the fact that we played very well.
"They are a good side and Terry (Butcher) will have them well motivated and they have caused us problems here in he past.
"From last week, they will be hoping to play better and have more impact on the game and it is up to us to make sure it doesn't happen."
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