Louis van Gaal has tipped Chris Smalling to one day be the captain of Manchester United saying that the England defender has all the qualities to do the job.

Smalling had often been overlooked under van Gaal and the Dutch manager even labelled Smalling "stupid" just last year.

However, since then Smalling has signed a long-term deal at Old Trafford and has started the last 22 games for the Red Devils.

Speaking ahead of his side's match against city rivals Manchester City Van Gaal singled out Smalling for praise.

"Every player makes the steps by himself," said United manager van Gaal. "I put him in the situation, help and advise him, and then it is up to the player to take it on board or not. It is his responsibility.

"He has done it by himself. There is a lot of advice. It is about how we defend as a team. He is a part of that and I wanted him to speak more (talk on the pitch). He also has the talent to speak. That makes him easy to coach.

"Because of that I made him a leader of the team. He has also made steps in a tactical way. When you give instruction in terms of organisation you need someone to understand that. He is a structured person. He accepted it quicker."