Federico Macheda is being tipped to reach greater heights than his Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Macheda's success has come as no surprise to Lazio's former head of youth development Volfango Patarca, who has previously unearthed Italy internationals Alessandro Nesta and Marco Di Vaio.

Patarca declared: "I'd liken Federico to the player he was alongside against Aston Villa, Cristiano Ronaldo. He definitely resembles Ronaldo.

"I first saw him play when he was with Savio, a club based in Rome.

"He was just 11 but he already had goalscoring in his blood.

"He is tall and languid, speedy too, and that is a rarity. He was the jewel of Lazio's youth team.

"I am absolutely delighted for him. I have seen him develop and now here he is in the same team as Ronaldo.

"Federico will end up becoming one of the finest strikers in Europe."