MICHAEL Keane has backed his former central defensive partner Ben Mee for an England call-up and said he'd be 'over the moon' if it happened.

Mee is one of several Clarets linked with a place in the next Three Lions squad at the end of March for friendlies with Holland and Italy as Gareth Southgate considers his options for this summer's World Cup.

Few players know Mee as well as Keane, with the duo playing together at the back for Burnley in 55 of 57 league games from the second half of the Championship-winning season and then most of last term's Premier League campaign.

Former Manchester City youngster Mee often flies under the radar, with Keane winning the plaudits last season before his £30million move to Everton, while Keane's replacement James Tarkowski has been the man in the spotlight this season.

But Keane is full of praise for Mee and said he'd love to see his former partner in crime in the England squad.

"He’s set the standard for the club for the last two or three seasons, with the way he is around the place, the way he plays and trains week in week out," the Everton man said of Mee.

"He’s a pleasure to play with, if Ben could get a call-up I’d be over the moon for him and hopefully I could be there with him and get to play with him.

"I really enjoyed that partnership, I know what he’s like as a player and as a person and he would definitely be worthy of a call-up."

The fight for places in Southgate's 23-man squad is fierce heading into the final two months of the season.

Very few players appear certainties to make the plane for Russia, with no England squad for a major tournament in recent memory as open at this stage of the build-up.

"There’s a lot of competition, I don’t think there’s many players who are certain to go. I think there’s a lot to play for over the last few months," said Keane, who won his first two England caps while at Burnley last season.

"You need to be playing regularly for your club and playing really well to give yourself a chance.

"I have to focus on the next few weeks and see what happens in March and hopefully get a call-up and take it from there.

"It’s every Englishman’s dream to go to a World Cup so I’m sure everyone will be doing all they can to get there."

Another Claret in the frame for the Three Lions is Nick Pope, who was on the fringes during Keane's final season at Turf Moor but has capitalised on Tom Heaton's shoulder injury this season.

Pope has come from nowhere to be considered for one of three goalkeeping spots, but Keane insists he's not surprised at the 25-year-old's rapid rise after training with him last season.

"He’s been brilliant. I’m not surprised, his shot stopping is excellent, you could see that in training day in and day out," he said.

"He’s got more confidence after making big saves and the run Burnley went on helped him.

"I think he’s been brilliant and it’s going to be a hard decision for the manager when Tom is fit, it will be interesting to see what happens."

Pope is one of a number of Burnley players to have taken huge strides forward since joining the club.

Tarkowski, who replaced Keane in the side this season and has won plenty of praise for his performances, is another, while Keane arrived as a £2million signing from Manchester United and left for Everton for £30million last summer.

"I think that’s always been the way there, most players I saw come in and then leave left better players," Keane said.

"You continue to see that now with Tarky replacing me, he’s done well and had a really good season, and the likes of Chris Wood who has done well coming in to replace Andre Gray.

"There’s a lot of players who have been there a year or two who are starting to shine and getting the credit they deserve, a lot of that comes down from the management and the staff working day in and day out and doing the right things."

So it was significant for the club to see Sean Dyche and his staff sign new four-and-a-half year contracts earlier this year.

"It’s massive for the club. He’s the main man there and the main reason why they’re doing so well," Keane said of his former boss.

"To get him to sign a long-term contract is great and hopefully he can take them further up the league, just not at our expense."

It's been a mixed first season at Everton for Keane, with the 25-year-old suffering from injuries and experiencing changes in the dugout as well, with Ronald Koeman replaced by Sam Allardyce, with a caretaker stint for David Unsworth in between.

But Keane believes he is now beginning to show his best form for the Toffees ahead of the trip to Burnley this weekend.

"It’s been up and down, I think I started well then things went downhill for the team, we lost the manager, we’ve had a couple of different managers which has been a new thing for me," Keane said of his first campaign on Merseyside.

"It’s been a learning curve this season, I’ve had patches where I’ve been at my best but not as consistent as I’d like to be.

"Hopefully between now and the end of the season I can show that, I feel like I’ve been playing well over the last few weeks since I came back from my injury so hopefully I can keep that up."