Former Arsenal and West Ham United fullback Nigel Winterburn has quickly been won over by Manchester City's young tyro Rico Lewis.
The teenager has made a first team breakthrough at City this season and at 17 years of age has been tipped for big things by manager Pep Guardiola.
Winterburn too has been impressed, though warns Lewis that the hard work has only just begun.
Speaking to Tribalfootball.com on behalf of FreeSuperTips, Winterburn said: "He's a young man still finding his way and I've only seen little clips and snippets of him so far.
"But it's incredible that someone at that age can make your first team debut and in this Manchester City side.
"There are obviously huge amounts of talent there, then it comes down to temperament and keeping yourself on a level playing field.
"With the coaching he's getting at Manchester City you would expect him to keep on improving and it will be down to him mainly.
"The Manchester City coaching staff will help him to make sure he realises his potential, so he has to listen to any piece of advice he receives."
Asked what advice he would offer Lewis, Winterburn intimates there's no great secret to success in the professional game.
He continued: "It's not easy to breakthrough and become a professional, but the hardest part is once you're in there, to stay there. The young man has everything ahead of him as do a lot of young players in different teams around the country.
"But it's how they look after themselves, mentally how they cope and teaching themselves how to manage being a footballer. Sometimes it's not just about the ability, it's about what you get involved in and who you let surround you who may not guide you in the right direction.
"For that young man it's a case of staying level-headed and listen to what you're being told by the coaching staff. We already know he has a huge level of talent, but it's all about nurturing, developing that talent and being able to produce game after game, season after season.
"That's what you need to do if you want to be talked about as a top player and not someone who's talked about as missed potential. That's what the top players do, they stay in the game for such a long time, Cristiano Ronaldo being an example of that alongside Lionel Messi.
"Some players obviously haven't achieved what those two have, but they've gone on to have long and successful careers at the top.
"It's down to how driven you are, avoiding distractions from outside interests and developing with the team you're with."
