Wales boss Ryan Giggs has compared his young centre-half Joe Rodon to former Manchester United stalwart Gary Pallister.
Rodon, 21, has himself become a target for the Old Trafford giants and has been linked with a £20million move this summer.
Giggs feels the Swansea City youngster can step up to the Premier League plate and even likened him to United fans' favourite Pallister, who made more than 300 appearances in the red during a hugely successful 10-year spell at the club.
Pallister was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson for a world record fee for a defender and became one of the rocks upon which United's success was built, winning four Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the UEFA Cup.
And Giggs, who came through as a youngster next to the more experienced Pallister, made the analogy with Rodon in an interview with The Athletic.
“Joe has grown over the last year or so. He is quick. Sometimes you don’t appreciate it,” said Giggs.
“It was the day after a game and we gave some players running drills, box to box. He was running with someone fast and went past them, effortlessly. I thought, ‘Oh, I hadn’t seen that .’
“It made me think a little bit of Gary Pallister. You don’t think of him as quick but when he got going at his peak, he was.
“When Pally got into the channels, no one out-ran him. So that suits the way I want to play
“I want my full-backs high, so if central defenders do have to get out wide and cover those positions, they are comfortable.
“In possession, Joe shows composure and he’s a good character. I saw him giving the ball away and being unhappy with himself. I liked that. Bit intense but set standards and if he didn’t keep to them, he wasn’t happy with himself.”
Giggs threw Rodon in for his competitive Wales debut during the march to Euro 2020, the defender instantly taking to international football before going on to shine against Croatia’s star-studded side.
His assured performance in Wales' 1-1 draw with the World Cup finalists really brought him to the attention of the big guns.
As well as United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea have also been linked with Rodon.
Rodon and Bournemouth’s Chris Mepham,another youngster Giggs rates highly, are set to form the centre-back pairing for Wales for the next decade, having come through together at under-21 level.
And Giggs name-checked each of them, as well as Ethan Ampadu, as future Wales captains.
“There are a lot of young players. I’m looking at who need to step up, as potential leaders: Ethan, Joe, Mepham, (Connor) Roberts. So we’ll see how that goes,” said Giggs.
