The Spurs star watching Ronaldo on TV in a bid to improve his game

McClaren pinpointed the 20-year-old's pace as a key part of his new regime only for knee injuries and gastritis preventing the Tottenham winger from making an impact, and David Beckham is once again England's premier right-sided player following his international exile.

Lennon has the raw pace that Beckham never relied on, but it was the delivery of the former England skipper that earned results against Brazil and Estonia in June.

Also in competition is David Bentley, despite leaving the under-21s a man short for the European Championships, and Shaun Wright-Phillips, who scored more goals than Lennon last season.

McClaren said: "Aaron Lennon has great potential. He is still very young. He made a great impact in the World Cup. Yes, there were options on that right-hand side.

"Unfortunately, we have hardly had Aaron, not seen enough of him. He's had bad injuries. It's unfortunate.

"It's the same with Joe Cole, we just haven't seen enough of these players who will make a difference to our performance."

McClaren admits Lennon is not the finished article, and the youngster has been working with Spurs skills coach Ricardo Moniz on his final delivery and shooting.

With Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe and new signing Darren Bent to aim his crosses at next season, Spurs boss Martin Jol is hoping for Lennon to provide the chances for his strike force.

Berbatov, Keane and Defoe scored more than 60 goals for Spurs in the last campaign but Jol insists the tally could have been improved.

"All of them could score at least another 10 goals if they get the right service and I won't rest until we get that from the flanks," said the Dutchman.

In his spare time, Lennon studies football footage and he wants to learn from Cristiano Ronaldo's progress on the flanks at Manchester United to develop his game.

Ronaldo's productivity was questioned when he first arrived in the country but he matured into a vital part of United's title-winning team last season.

"Ronaldo, for me, is the best player in the world at the moment," said Lennon.

"The way he played week-in week-out for Manchester United is unbelievable and the way he has improved over the last two seasons has been amazing.

"I watch a lot of football in my spare time and try to learn off everyone, especially people like Ronaldo who play in my position.

"I don't try to copy any of his play but I look at his movement and the way he's improved his game."

While Portugal winger Ronaldo netted 23 times for United last season, Lennon contributed five for Spurs and Jol has previously spoken of how he expects his youngster to eventually be a regular goalscorer.

"There is always room for improvement," Lennon added.

"As a kid I always tried to improve on everything - movement, left foot, crossing, finishing.

"I have that expectation of me to change a game, to create a goal or score a goal. It's part of my game so I have to deal with the expectation."

There was an element of the "second-season syndrome" when Lennon returned from Germany, with defenders showing the youngster onto his left foot.

His friend Ashley Cole is among only a clutch of full-backs to match him for pace, with Sevilla's Antonio Puerta also impressing against Lennon, despite him getting on the scoresheet in the UEFA Cup quarter-final.

A bigger test will come when he is required to make an impact for England in the coming months. His injuries meant his first start for his country only came in March, meaning he is still an unknown quantity at international level.

McClaren added: "We've got potential in Aaron Lennon, in Shaun Wright-Phillips, in Bentley, in people coming through. Ashley Young, Theo Walcott.

"But that's all they are, potential and you have to try to give them the experience and try to win football matches."

First up is a friendly against Germany next month and Philipp Lahm, one of the most highly-rated full-backs in Europe. Then there are the qualifiers against Israel and Russia which could determine whether England reach the European Championship finals.

The right results at Wembley would give Lennon another major tournament to impress at, the question is whether it will be Lennon, Beckham, or someone else altogether on the right flank.