Richard Dunne is convinced Stephen Ireland will be a huge player for Aston Villa.
Dunne played with Ireland at Manchester City.
The defender told Villa's website: "Stephen is brilliant.
"I was in the dressing room for the second half of the Bolton game and I saw one of the runs that he made and he nearly scored.
"It was similar to what he was doing at Manchester City when he was playing all the time. He was doing that and putting them away. The more games he plays and the fitter he gets the more confident he becomes in his surroundings.
"He'll turn into a real star player for the team and the club. I think we've got a real good talent on our hands who, given the time and the patience, will be an outstanding player.
"He's got really good energy and if you look at the stats at the end of games then the distance that he covers is usually higher than most players that you'd see around.
"He never shirks the responsibility of hard work, equally when he gets the ball his quality on it really shines through."
