Former Aston Villa trainee Danny Earls is showing plenty of his potential with MLS club Colorado Rapids.

The 21-year old Irish defender joined the Rapids in February this year from USL First Division Rochester Rhinos and the Denver-based club is excited about what he has to offer.

"He's only just turned 21. He's got a lot of potential and I'm delighted that he's been able to show some of that already," said head coach Gary Smith. "He's been absolutely terrific. I think he's exceeded the expectations at this point that we all had."

Earls heaped praise on former Leicester City and Celtic winger Steve Guppy, who is currently the Rapids assistant after serving as player-coach at the Rhinos, and was also grateful to the established players who had helped him settle into life as a MLS player.

"I've been with Steve for two-and-a-half years and I can't speak highly enough of him," Earls told Soccer365. "He's been invaluable in my career so far. It's crazy to think I was at Aston Villa with the reserves and I've become a better player leaving there with Steve.

"It was a big thing I was thinking about all the off-season. It sounds a bit corny, but I was trying to get myself ready mentally," Earls added. "It's a big thing coming into a team like this having such good players like Julian (Baudet), Drew (Moor), Kosuke (Kimura), we have Marvell (Wynne) now and I didn't know where I could fit in the manager's plans."