Arnold Town boss Adam Muldoon reckons Ben Hutchison is destined for big things at Middlesbrough.

Muldoon sold Hutchison to Boro for £100,000 buy and was delighted to see him score on his Premiership debut at Manchester City.

"I was thrilled for Ben that he scored at Manchester City. It's Roy of the Rovers stuff," Muldoon told the Evening Gazette. "I think he will score goals wherever he plays and hopefully he will score more for Boro.

"He has that ability that you can't coach, and that is being in the right place at the right time, as he showed with his goal on Sunday. He is strong, has a good attitude and a total belief in his ability and what he can achieve.

"I don't think he would respect any defender. I think he would back himself to have the beating of anybody.

"Gareth Southgate was obviously forced to play him because of injuries but he can't do any more than score on his debut."

Hutchinson is the second striker from Arnold Town to make the leap to Teesside, following in the footsteps of Chris Freestone.

Freestone, who arrived on Teesside in 1994, also scored on his Boro debut before going on to spells at Northampton and Hartlepool, among others.

The 36-year-old, currently working as a full-time coach with the FA, is now back with Arnold Town and is currently the top scorer in the Northern Counties League, with 12 goals in 10 games.

"We've had three guys go to professional clubs in the last 15 years and two of them have gone to Middlesbrough, which is bizarre," added Muldoon.

"So there is a bit of a link there and hopefully we can supply a few more for them in future."