Manchester United forward Lauren James has been tipped to become the best female footballer in the world by her manager Casey Stoney.
The teenager, who left Arsenal to join United when they formed, has impressed over the last two campaigns and has already scored two important goals this season including a lovely finish against Everton at the weekend and she's being backed to go all the way to the top.
"I think if you speak to anyone who has been around Lauren, trained with her and worked with her, they know how good she is," Stoney told MEN Sport. "I genuinely believe she can become the best player in the world and one of the best players in the world for a long time."
Stoney has been in the game a long time and has penned a book Changing the game: Fantastic Female Footballers focusing on pioneers in the game and top talent - and the United manager says James has something special she hasn't seen before.
"She has a talent that I haven’t seen in the women’s game before," Stoney added. "She has a very bright future and she can be whatever she wants to be and I think people are seeing that now.
"I’m excited about where she can go and what she can do. I’m excited about her showing her talent because when you see rare players, and I’ve seen a few in terms of Kelly Smith and Kim Little people like that. Lauren is very different. I’m privileged to work with her every day."
As well as James, Stoney also mentioned United captain Katie Zelem and goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain when talking about members of the team who could inspire the next generation.
"I grew up with no real role models in the game," Stoney said. "I grew up with Ian Wright as a role model because there were no visible women at all. Now I’m a mum and I’ve got two little girls and I grew up in a world where you were told you couldn’t and shouldn’t play and there were no role models. I don’t want my little girls to grow up like that.
"I look at my team and you've got Katie Zelem and she’s come a long way and she’s come through the ranks and all the way through Manchester United as a very young player and that inspires young players because they know it’s achievable.
"I look at Siobhan Chamberlain, she is having a baby, that inspires people in a different way in terms of being a mum and a sports person and making that possible."
Changing the Game: Fantastic Female Footballers with Casey Stony is out on 31 October (Studio Press/£12.99)
