Harvey Elliott shone during Liverpool's 5-0 defeat by Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night with Jamie Redknapp taken aback by the youngster's ability.
Elliott was one of a number of academy players who took on Villa in the quarter-finals at Villa Park with Liverpool's first-team squad in Doha for the Club World Cup.
The 16-year-old caught the eye, though, and Redknapp was left thoroughly impressed while working as a pundit on Sky Sports.
Redknapp said: 'Harvey Elliott – we were watching him and he’s 16 years of age. From minute one he was trying to get on the ball. He looked the real deal.'
Former Villa player Lee Hendrie also spoke of his admiration of the young attacking midfielder, who is also the youngest player to play in the Premier League.
Hendrie added: 'He drifted into the No 10 position and he’s got the ability. He came in from the right hand side. You notice the youngsters who stand out. He was at the attention of everything going forward.'
Redknapp highlighted Elliott's ability on the ball, in particular how well he passed it.
He said: There were a couple of the things he did but there was one or two passes but I don’t know why, some left footers are gifted with.
'The way they (Liverpool's first team) play with a midfield three, is he a box-to-box like Wijnaldum? Probably not. But it's beggars belief how he played tonight. He didn’t get fatigued by the end of the game.'