Fulham boss Martin Jol admits he has high hopes for exciting winger Mesca.

The 19-year-old is not far from Jol's thoughts as he tracks his development this season.

"It is not easy for him, of course, but it is easy for me," he told fulhamfc.com. "I've got five or six flank players and he was one of them in pre-season. He has one great quality: he has a lot of pace. He's very quick so we decided to give him a long-term contract.

"He came back from a big injury, a cruciate ligament injury, and he was good so he will be in the big group on Saturday. Maybe not in the final 18, but he is certainly in the group of 20 players."

After joining the Club from Chelsea in 2011, the winger enjoyed a good pre-season ahead of the current campaign and Jol has high hopes for his future after his impressive performances last summer.

"Sometimes he came on and he started in our training game in Leipzig in Germany [a 4-0 win]," he added. "I can remember him coming on one minute and he scored against Nice when we beat them 4-0, so I feel that although he is not the finished article and has a long way to go, I think he is a very talented young Portuguese international."