Ex-Derby County manager George Burley has drawn comparisons between Rams midfielder Tom Huddlestone and former England playmaker Glenn Hoddle.
Injuries have hampered Huddlestone this season – restricting him to just 11 Championship appearances.
The 33-year-old is a product of the Derby academy system and was brought through at the East Midlands club when Burley was manager in the early 2000s.
A bright prospect, the central midfielder was given his first team debut as a teenager but was snapped up by Tottenham for £2.5 million in 2005.
12 years and three clubs later, Huddlestone returned to Derby in 2017 and has appeared 90 times since, including playing a key part in their run to the play-off final last season.
The midfielder has had an impressive career that has included nearly 250 Premier League appearances and four England caps.
Speaking to the Athletic, Burley waxed lyrical about Huddlestone's qualities and even compared him to Hoddle.
He said: "Tom has always been a great passer of the ball.
"We brought him into the team and even at 17 he oozed quality. He was such a big lad for his age, but his strengths were actually more technical than physical.
"He had the passing ability of Glenn Hoddle. He was that good.”
Burley departed the club soon after Huddlestone left to join Spurs and would go on to coach a number of other impressive young talents, including Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott at Southampton and Wilfried Zaha at Crystal Palace.
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The Verdict
Hoddle is recognised as one of most talented midfielders England have ever had, so this is high praise indeed for Huddlestone.
Given his big frame and penchant to score outrageous long-range efforts, it is sometimes easy to overlook how technically talented the Derby midfielder is.
It will be interesting to see whether he comes back into Cocu's plans alongside Wayne Rooney once he is back fit – that could be a dangerous midfield duo, though you'd question whether they still have the legs.