Amr Zaki, of Wigan Athletic, is the top scorer in the Barclays Premier League; Wayne Rooney, of England, is joint top scorer in the European qualifying groups for the World Cup in 2010. The consistent factor here is the support both men receive from a reborn Emile Heskey. On the back of this there is talk of a summer move to a leading club, perhaps Liverpool or Aston Villa.

Heskey will be 31 in January. This could be his final significant transfer. As a free agent when his contract expires at the end of this season, leaving Wigan will make him a fortune. One can see the attractions, but the pitfalls, too. What Heskey has for club and country right now is the best of all possible worlds, the perfect symbiotic relationship with his partners. Heskey’s hard work and intelligent play brings the best out of them; they cover for the fact that, as a centre forward, he does not score many goals. Heskey has just one this season in 11 matches and that was irrelevant, the fourth of Wigan’s five against Hull City on August 30. So as much as Wigan and England need him, he needs players such as Rooney and Zaki to make up for the fact that a huge part of his game is missing.

That is why, as Steve Bruce, his manager at Wigan, rightly observed, a lucrative move may not be the blessing it seems. Heskey’s relegation with Birmingham City in 2005-06 and his disappointing later years at Liverpool suggest he cannot partner just anybody and it is credit to his present coaches that they have found the blend that gets the best out of him. Regular football for Wigan has helped and this would not be guaranteed elsewhere. Heskey needs to beware making a hasty decision, as do a few Barclays Premier League managers, given past experience.

Without a doubt, this is Heskey’s moment. Used properly, instead of being required aimlessly to run the channels as he was under Sven-Göran Eriksson, he has blossomed into a hugely important player for England. Nobody is calling for the restoration of Michael Owen because the Heskey-Rooney partnership has worked beautifully, but had Rooney been injured and his replacement not picked up the slack, who knows where England’s World Cup campaign would be now? Heskey’s last goal for England was on May 22, 2003, against South Africa, his last competitive goal for England was on June 15, 2002, against Denmark. He has five goals in 50 internationals, a pitiful return for a striker, but it does not matter because the mixture is what is important.

If Heskey were a drink, he would be tonic water. He succeeds as half of a partnership, not as an individual. But as a comedian, he would be Ernie Wise, not Eric Morecambe. He may be the best in the business at what he does, but without the other guy he is just not funny.

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This week's Debate: One Argentina striker, rarely used but runs like a dream - a snip at £32m

With the arrival of Dimitar Berbatov and the return to fitness of Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tévez, the Manchester United striker, will not be given as many opportunities to start matches. At the end of this season his two-year loan deal — although who is he on loan from, nobody seems to know — will expire. At which point, United must pay £32 million to sign the Argentina forward permanently. Does that not seem like rather a lot of money for a reserve, even such a talented one?

DEBATE: Would you pay £32 million for Carlos Tévez? Click here to have your say

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Burnham on wrong track

Considering the state of the global economy, for football to be asked to reassess its relationship with money by a member of Gordon Brown’s Government would be laughable were it not so hypocritical. Even in the world of sport there are better topics for Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, to discuss, such as the potential for a £1 billion taxpayer bailout of the Olympic Village that will come directly from your pocket, as opposed to the debt at Chelsea underpinned by the personal fortune of Roman Abramovich.