Former Tottenham Hotspur midfield Glenn Hoddle heaped praise on the shoulders of striker Carlos Vinicius ahead of Spurs' clash with Royal Antwerp in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Signed on loan from Portuguese heavyweights Benfica earlier this month, the Brazilian forward, who netted 24 goals in 47 appearances for Benfica last season, made his first start for Spurs against LASK in the Europa League last week.
Though he was unable to mark his first start for the club with a goal, he did grab two assists, setting up Lucas Moura for the game's opening goal and substitute Son Heung-min for Spurs' third to put the gloss on a comfortable night's work in north London.
As expected, the 25-year-old was forced to take up a place on the substitutes bench against Burnley in the Premier League on Monday night, though, with star man Harry Kane preferred in attack.
However, with Spurs chief Jose Mourinho now able to make wholesale changes to his side and still be able to field a starting line-up capable of competing at a high level, Vinicius was reinstated to the starting line-up against Antwerp.
Thursday night's defeat to Antwerp only marked his second appearance for the club, but Hoddle saw enough of the Brazilian's qualities against LASK to be left excited by what he will bring to the table.
“He is the real deal," Hoddle told BT Sport ahead of the game. "When he came over I think we weren’t quite sure.
"Twenty-five touches is not a lot in a full 90 minutes, but it was the impact he had with the ball.
"How he used the ball was sensational with his creation.”
Tottenham went on to suffer defeat against Antwerp and Vinicius was replaced by Son at half-time.
