Liverpool whizkid Rhian Brewster has won great praise from his former academy coach.

Brewster, who began his career with Chelsea, hit a hat-trick for England in yesterday's U17 World Cup semifinal win over Brazil.

Shield academy coach Dan Seymour recalled to BBC Sport: "It wasn't long after I opened Shield that one of the players asked if he could bring a close family friend to the academy, and that was Rhian.

"He was scouted in the first two minutes of his first game after rounding the entire opposition, scoring and then grabbing the ball and putting it back on the spot.

"In the time it took that to happen, Martin Taylor, the academy scout at Chelsea, approached his dad and me, and said he wanted him immediately."

He added: "He looked like a footballer at seven - the way he stood and moved. He was fearless and was delighted to take players on.

"He's also a very well mannered young man and comes from a humble family.

"I've yet to see another player as good as him in all the time I've been at the academy."