Axel Tuanzebe has praised Harry Maguire for the "massive impact" he has made since joining Manchester United.
Maguire joined the Red Devils from Leicester in an £80million deal over the summer that saw him become the world's most expensive defender.
Despite being with the club only a short amount of time, the 26-year-old was named as United's captain in January following Ashley Young's departure to Inter Milan.
And Tuanzebe insisted that the England international was deserving of the armband after an impressive start to life at Old Trafford.
“Massive respect to him for getting the captaincy," he told the club's official website.
"For me, I don't think it is ever about how long you have been somewhere. It is the impact you give and the time you spend with the lads.
"He's had a massive impact on the club, he has been a real example and has managed to lead the team.
"We are improving. We are a young side and given time, I think we will be very strong and contending for real titles.
"But I just want to send massive congratulations to Harry, because I think he deserves it with the impact that he's given to the club.”
After impressing on loan at Aston Villa last season, Tuanzebe has endured a frustrating campaign for United which has been affected by injury problems.
The 22-year-old has played for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side just 10 times this season and has not featured since the Carabao Cup win over Colchester United in December.
He joined the other members of Solskjaer's first team in Malaga for warm-weather training during their winter break but has largely been working away from the main group alongside the likes of Scott McTominay and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who are also recovering from injuries.
Asked how close he is to rejoining first-team training, Tuanzebe added: “I couldn't really put a timeframe on it, but yeah very soon.
"The training today went well and I just want to keep that vibe, that mentality and that work ethic.
"Scott and Tim are always great to train with, we always push each other, so we are putting in the hard work to get back as soon as possible.”
