After netting a hat-trick to help down Bolton 4-0, Darren Bent is in line for an England call-up according to manager Steve Bruce.

Bent hit his 16th, 17th and 18th league goals in the Black Cat's first win in 14 matches to jump to second on the leading scorers table behind Manchester United's Wayne Rooney and Bruce was full of superlatives for the former Tottenham man.

"It's a magnification return and he must be knocking on the door," Bruce told Sky Sports.

"When you consider the position we are in - 18 goals in the bottom half of the table is quite magnificent.

"I'm sure there is still a lot more he can add before the end of the season and that will give him that chance of playing in the World Cup.

"A goalscorer is a goalscorer. For me, we haven't got many (English ones) in the Premier League.

"We look at (Jermaine) Defoe, who is a natural goal-scorer and of course (Wayne) Rooney. But after that you think 'who is the most natural goalscorer'.

"He's (Bent) always got goals in the Premier League and, for me, he deserves his chance."