ADAM Johnson has claimed his January move from Middlesbrough was the catalyst for kick-starting his England career.

Johnson made his international debut at Wembley on Monday night, with a fiveminute substitute appearance against Mexico capping a memorable few months that have seen him become one of the most talked-about young players in the country following an £8.5m move to Manchester City.

The Easington-born winger will hope to be involved again on Sunday, when England take on Japan in their final World Cup warm-up game, and it increasingly looks as though Fabio Capello will include him in the final 23-man squad that will be submitted to FIFA on June 1.

Finishing the season in a World Cup finals would represent a remarkable turnaround given that Johnson started the campaign with a Championship fixture against Sheffield United.

And while the 22-year-old values his time at the Riverside, he admits he would not even be in contention for a World Cup place if he had remained on Teesside in January.

“Middlesbrough were great for me and my development, but coming to City has been fantastic,” said Johnson.

“If I’d stayed where I was, I doubt I would have had this opportunity and now hopefully I can end the season by going to the World Cup.”

While many observers expected Capello to give Johnson longer than the final five minutes on Monday, the fact he emerged from the substitutes’ bench at all was telling.

One of his leading rivals for a midfield berth, Shaun Wright-Phillips, was an unused replacement, and it appears as though Johnson has leapfrogged his Manchester City team-mate in the pecking order.

Where he lies in relation to Joe Cole remains to be seen, as Capello did not pick any Chelsea players against Mexico following their exertions in the FA Cup final.

Cole could be involved as England complete their World Cup preparations in Graz this weekend, but if Capello opts to select just four centre-forwards, there could yet be room for both the Chelsea midfielder and Johnson in the final squad.

Either way, Johnson’s brief cameo on Monday contained a couple of dribbles that highlighted his potential, and the Boro Academy product was happy with his efforts.

“It was brilliant and I really enjoyed it,” he said.

“The last six months have been unbelievable and winning my first England cap was the proudest moment of my career.

“I wasn’t too nervous, but deep down I was desperate to get on.

“It’s what you dream of when you’re a little lad and to make my debut in front of 88,000 people at Wembley is something I’ll never forget.”

Johnson will fly back out to England’s Austrian training camp with the rest of the England squad later today, and Darren Bent is hoping to join in tomorrow’s training session as he attempts to prove his fitness ahead of the weekend.

Bent was forced to sit out Monday’s win after feeling tightness in his groin. The Sunderland striker is not believed to have suffered a groin strain, but the problem has restricted his movement in the last 72 hours.

The injury could not have come at a worse time, as Monday’s friendly should have been an ideal opportunity for him to press his international claims following a prolific season that saw him score 24 Premier League goals.

As it is, he must now hope to be involved in Sunday’s match, even though Capello is expected to give Emile Heskey a run out after he was an unused substitute two days ago.