West Ham striker Dean Ashton has backed the idea of an All-Star game for the top players in the Premier League.

The Hammers are in Toronto for Thursday night's match against a Major League Soccer All-Star team boasting the likes of David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Mexico striker Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Juan Pablo Angel.

Asked whether such a match would be possible midway through a Premier League season, as is the case with the MLS, the England cap was positive.

"I think it could be, yes," Ashton said. "Coming over here I was quite surprised at how big an event it is and all the media surrounding it.

"So if it's such a big deal over here I can't see why something like that can't be really good over in England.

"It's a great event and we're definitely looking forward to it."

The MLS All-Star squad is selected by voting from fans, the media, team head coaches and general managers.

The leading club in the league standings at the halfway stage supplies the coach, in this case New England Revolution boss and former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol, who makes two additional picks to complete an 18-man squad that has in the last three years defeated Fulham, Chelsea and Celtic.

Ashton claimed he saw no reason why the best players in England could not join together for a similar event.

"It's a great concept, especially for all the fans to see all their best players in one team, so I don't see why not," he said.

"I don't know if it would ever happen, though. That's another matter."

Ashton, 24, believes Beckham's move from Real Madrid to the Los Angeles Galaxy last season has given MLS a huge boost in profile back in England.

"I think a lot of people were surprised that David Beckham came over here," he said.

"They felt like he could still play a part in European football but I think he's shown already that he's made a great decision and he's definitely helped the MLS and helped the profile in England as well."

Ashton revealed that Beckham's success had also got a lot of players of all ages in the English leagues talking about following the former Manchester United star across the Atlantic.

"Obviously David Beckham coming over here made the MLS a lot bigger in England," he continued.

"Everyone is talking about it and younger and younger players want to come over here now.

"It's a great lifestyle, the football is getting better and better all the time and the feedback to all the players in England is that it's an up-and-coming league and it's really somewhere to be at the moment, but that depends on the player himself."