Wayne Rooney has revealed that he has been so impressed with Max Bird since arriving at Derby County and backed the youngster to go on to play for England.

The Manchester United legend, who is also the Three Lions top scorer, arrived at Pride Park as a player in January and has made an instant impact on and off the pitch.

And, speaking to The Athletic, Rooney explained how Bird has caught his eye and he outlined just how far he thinks the 19-year-old can go in his career.

"When I first joined I was watching him in training. I saw he had something different. He had a composure you very rarely see in young players. I was thinking if he ever got in the team then he’d be hard to get out of it.

"He’s been our best player. For me he’s probably the first name on the team sheet. I can’t speak highly enough of him and I’d push to say in the next year he could get an England place. I think he’s been that good."

Bird has featured 12 times for the Rams in the Championship this season and played the full game as they lost to United in the FA Cup last night.

QUIZ: Can you name these 15 ex-Derby County centre-backs?

The verdict

This is extremely high praise from someone of Rooney's standing in the game and it's going to be a major boost to the youngster.

He clearly recognises the talent the midfielder has and when you consider the players the 34-year-old has played with, it proves just how talented he thinks the Rams academy graduate is.

Of course, Bird can't afford to get ahead of himself and he needs to keep working but you can't imagine that Rooney, or Phillip Cocu, will allow him to get complacent.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.