Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce admits Phil Jones has been "awesome" in midfield.
After starring in the heart of the defence towards the end of last season, the 18-year-old has impressed in a deep midfield role this time round, but Allardyce warns he now has to maintain his new 'elite standards'.
"With Jonesy playing in midfield now, I think he is awesome," Allardyce told the Lancashire Telegraph.
"He does all things well, defends well, uses the ball well, his energy levels are really, really good, so that is a bigger competition for those midfield players. It has been a good start for Phil Jones, he has carried from where he left off last year.
"We have to keep a close eye on him and make sure he does not slip away in terms of getting carried away with all the attention he is getting though. He had two outstanding games for the England under 21s.
"He has been outstanding in the middle, it is not his normal position but he is very comfortable with it. He has to continue to move forward though. He ran further than he ever has in his life according to the stats against Manchester City.
"He broke all his previous records in that game in terms of his physical output. He has set himself a new standard and now we ask the player to hit that standard as many times as possible."
