Paul Lambert was gushing in his praise of new signing Carles Gil after the Spaniard made his Aston Villa debut at Liverpool on Saturday.
The Spain Under-21 international, who scored one goal in eight Liga appearances for former club Valencia, has signed a deal until 2019 for an undisclosed fee.
Gil played half an hour of his new team's 2-0 home defeat to Brendan Rodgers' men, but Lambert believes the 22-year-old put in a standout performance.
"Gil coming on was excellent," he said. "It was as good a debut as I've seen in a long time from a lad who's just come from another country and doesn't know everyone’s name.
"He's a top talent. Not a regular at Valencia, but a top talent.
"I know from experience [Lambert played in Germany for Borussia Dortmund], when you play in a foreign country, you don't understand the language and you play without fear.
"He was outstanding. He has a good temperament and has played at a massive football club in Spain.
"When he finds his feet, Aston Villa have a top, top player on their hands."
