Newcastle United defender Mike Williamson has no doubts Andy Carroll is set for big things.
Whether he gets the call from England coach Fabio Capello or not, defender Mike Williamson is tipping him to make a significant impact at club level once again this season.
The 26-year-old said: "Since I have been here, he has gone from strength to strength.
"He proved last year he can be a prolific goalscorer in the second half of the season and he is relishing the chance to prove he can do that in the Premier League.
"His all-round play is also coming together. He is not just a goalscorer, he holds the ball up, he is a very good link-up player and he will only improve.
"He is only young and he has got a great, great future ahead of him."
Carroll scored 19 goals last season, all but two of them in the Championship, and 15 of them came following the turn of the year.
But while he forged his blossoming reputation in the lower division, there were still question marks over his ability to reproduce that form on the big stage, although his treble against Villa provided at least some of the answers.
Having trained against Carroll for the last nine months, Williamson knows all about his strengths, and is confident he is the genuine article.
He said: "He's a handful, especially in the air. He will give a torrid time to even the best defenders because sometimes, he is unplayable.
"There is nothing you can do against that sheer power and pace.
"But strikers are judged on their goalscoring ability, and I think that's where Andy is going to excel this year."
