David Turnbull was always destined for great things - and the Celtic midfielder will go on to captain Scotland one day according to former Motherwell academy director Gordon Young.
The midfielder is a household name at Celtic after his 2020 move to Parkhead from boyhood club Motherwell. It netted the Steelmen a record fee and the deal could rise to £3.25 million.
Young - now assistant manager at Cove Rangers - spotted Turnbull as a youngster during his time as youth chief at Fir Park.
He spent six years in the role between 2007-13 alongside his work as a first-team coach and was responsible for helping pick out marquee talents such as Turnbull, Allan Campbell and James Scott.
But Young, speaking on the 10th episode of the Lanarkshire Live Sport Podcast after the launch of his new book 'License to Skill', says it was Turnbull who stood out.
He's broken into the national team and Young expects him to wear the armband soon: "We managed the top talent - the real challenge was getting others up to a level where they could be a late bloomer or something.
"David's a £3 million player who's made it at Celtic and will go on to captain Scotland in my opinion. He's a truly wonderful footballer.
"It's a testament to the system that it can produce these type of kids. David was way ahead of anyone I saw as a young kid because he knew the game.
"He could take the ball and handle it - he knew where to be. You need to be able to process the information then deliver. It's not about where you are at 12, it's about where you are at 21."
Young got the chance to reconnect with the Wishaw star as he enjoyed a scouting trip for Cove's Scottish Cup fourth round clash with Hibs, who they face on Thursday.
The midfielder is injured at the moment and hit his Fir Park mentor with a quip from the TV series Mad Men: "I was at Parkhead on Monday to watch Celtic play Hibs as we play Hibs in the Scottish Cup.
"Unfortunately David was injured but he was sitting in the row near me. There he was, talking to me about his family, with Rod Stewart sitting on the other side of him! It's surreal, the nature of football. He's so grounded.
"The guy from Mad Men - Jon Hamm - was next to us as well. The biggest compliment I got from David was saying that despite that, I was the biggest madman in the place!"
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