Interim manager Ralf Rangnick has admitted that he would not be "surprised" to see Scott McTominay become Manchester United captain within a "couple of years."
Rangnick made the admission following the Scotland international's match-winning contribution in United's 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the third-round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford on Monday evening.
McTominay, combining with central-midfield partner Fred, netted the only goal of the game, directing an excellent eighth minute header past Emiliano Martinez in the Aston Villa goal, with that proving to be just enough to set up a fourth-round date with Middlesbrough at Old Trafford next month.
The Scotland star ghosted in between Villa centre-backs Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa to power the ball past Martinez to claim his second goal in three games, following on from his strike in the 3-1 triumph over Burnley last month.
Although his goal was the headline-grabbing moment of his evening's work, his overall performance was hailed by Rangnick following the full-time whistle, with the German tipping him to one day follow in the footsteps of numerous United greats and sport the captain's armband.
"He is an academy boy, his energy is amazing," Rangnick said. "He now also starts scoring goals and also with some leadership skills.
"I wouldn't be surprised if in a couple of years he would be the captain of this team."
McTominay has soon cemented himself as a key fixture in Rangnick's plans, starting all but one of the former RB Leipzig head coach's first seven games in charge.
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards, too, was also full of praise for the midfielder, suggesting he was a bright spark in another uninspiring United showing.
He said: " For all the stick he's taken, McTominay had a good performance tonight and he has had a couple of good performances in the last couple of weeks.
"But it was typical Man United again - underwhelming and not great, but at least he popped up for a goal for himself."
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