West Ham United hero Carlton Cole has been impressed by Jeremy Ngakia.
The 19-year-old West Ham academy graduate made his debut for the club against Liverpool on January 29.
His second appearance on Monday night also came against the Reds, and Cole was pleased with what he saw.
"I thought his concentration and focus on Monday night was immense. To hold his own against someone like Sadio Mane, one of the best in the world at the moment, and other players like Andy Robertson, was a measure of his quality," Cole said.
"Jeremy is a natural defender. I think he started as a winger, but he has that natural instinct to defend - his reading of the game and sense of positioning is very, very good. And he has developed that entirely in the West Ham academy, which is huge credit to the staff and coaches who have guided him on his journey.
"In some ways, he has probably been helped by the fact that he has come into the side under the radar in terms of there not being any hype about him before his debut. To be honest, I don't think there will have even been many West Ham fans who knew much about him, perhaps only those who watch academy or U23 games, and so he has been able to develop without too much fuss."
