Aaron Wan-Bissaka is "an absolute diamond of a guy" who has "no airs and graces", according to one of his former youth coaches.
Manchester United signed the 21-year-old right-back from Crystal Palace this summer and the £45million man has already made an impact on the pitch in the club's pre-season tour.
He was one of United's standout players in pre-season games in Perth, Singapore and Shanghai, but also spent time with fans overseas and appeared in videos answering questions from supporters.
According to Richard Shaw, who coached him for Palace's Under-23s, Wan-Bissaka is as impressive away from the pitch as he is on it.
"After a game, you wouldn’t know if he’d won man of the match or scored four own-goals in the same game. You just wouldn’t be able to tell from his demeanour," he told United's official website .
"That’s what’s quite endearing about him: he’s never high, never low. He just gets on with his job. He comes in, very quietly spoken, joins in with the banter, but just gets on with his job.
"That’s what I love about him: no airs and graces. Onto the next game, let’s go. He’s got bags of ability and all the character to go with it."
Wan-Bissaka began life as a winger in Palace's academy, before a late conversion to full-back after impressing in a first-team training session.
But Shaw insists the credit for the defender's rise can only be credited to the man himself.
"All the credit for Aaron’s success belongs to one person: Aaron," he said.
"He didn’t have to come in for early mornings. He didn’t have to come out again in the afternoons. He didn’t have to knock on our doors saying: “I want to be a full-back, how can I learn?”
"He didn’t have to keep asking us questions during the sessions. “Should I have been here? Should I have been there?”
"He didn’t have to turn his life around, start doing the gym work, start eating properly, start understanding how to be a professional footballer.
"Aaron’s a great lad, an absolute diamond of a guy and I’m so, so proud of him. He’s an example of what we want any kid in the academy system to do: take responsibility for their football, their lifestyle and their life."
