Stoke City coach Kevin Russell is convinced by the talent of Thibaud Verlinden.

Verlinden is still only 17 but he has been fast-tracked through to Stoke's under-23s and Belgium's under-19s and has already featured on the bench for Mark Hughes's first team.

"For a kid as a wide player you are going to struggle to beat a player of Verlinden's quality in the country or in Europe," said Russell. "I've seen him do that to a number of teams now.

"Last year he was excellent for me and he's still only 17. He's a player, the kid, and you want to get him on the ball as much as possible.'