Anthony Elanga has been tipped for greatness by Manchester United teammate Victor Lindelof having seemingly edged ahead of Jadon Sancho in the Red Devils' pecking order.
The Swedish attacker seized his opportunity at the weekend, impressing after being handed his first Premier League start of the season by manager Ralf Rangnick in United's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.
The 19-year-old was selected ahead of Sancho and the out-of-favour pair of Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford were both absent due to minor knocks.
Following his fine performance, United centre-back and Elanga's fellow countryman Lindelof heaped praised on the teenager, insisting a "great future" lies in wait.
"Of course, I talk to him a lot," Lindelof told United's club website. "He's a great talent and I'm very happy for him, getting more and more minutes at the club.
"He's a young player, a good talent, who comes in here every day and really wants to improve his game. He works very, very hard and I'm pleased for him.
"If he keeps doing the things he's doing at the moment, I think he's going to have a great future ahead of him. It's all about staying humble and to keep working hard."
The United academy graduate looks set for further outings with the first-team following a promising couple of weeks which also included a lively cameo against Saturday's same opponents in the Emirates FA Cup third round last weekend.
However, while Elanga has been impressing having broken into the first-team fold, one player who has seen his United season stall is that of summer signing Sancho.
The winger endured a difficult start to life at Old Trafford following his £73million move from Borussia Dortmund and, despite a scintillating week in which he scored against Villarreal and Chelsea back in November, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp believes the 21-year-old has his work cut out, especially following the emergence of Elanga.
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"Sancho has got a massive challenge on," Redknapp declared. "He came onto the pitch today and didn't make any impact and when you are coming on you are hoping you might create a bit of magic.
"In the end you end up drawing 2-2 and you're meant to be the player that helps the team.
"He is low on confidence, we talk about it a lot in football and I watch him playing and he is a shadow of the player he was in the Bundesliga.
"When I saw him there he looked good in close areas. My biggest worry is that he does not have the pace to run past people.
"United have always had amazing wingers who run with the ball, not just in tight areas but they had the pace to run in beyond.
"That is why he [Ralf Rangnick] has gone with Elanga today. First two minutes of the game he ran and chased it, Sancho does not do that. That is a real worry for him."
