Tottenham Hotspur can rely on U.S. youth international Cameron Carter-Vickers this season, his teammate Jan Vertonghen has told ESPN FC.
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino has said that Carter-Vickers, who made his debut in Wednesday's 5-0 EFL Cup win over Gillingham, "will be one of the best centre-backs in England in the future."
And Vertonghen told ESPN FC of the 18-year-old: "He's still young but he's an absolute beast. He's a real defender. He's strong one-on-one, in the air, he's not afraid and he can play from the back. That's the style the gaffer wants to see from him."
Pochettino prefers to keep talented youth players around the senior squad rather than sending them on loan, and Carter-Vickers has been training with the first team since midway through last season.
Carter-Vickers, who is the son of former NBA player Howard Carter, has been on the bench ahead of Austria international Kevin Wimmer in five of Spurs' seven league matches this season.
"He's a very good player and he has time to grow into our team, to play games like he did against Gillingham," Vertonghen added. "He'll be there when we need him. It's good to see him making such progress.
"In the last few months, he's really stepped up. Before, he was just a young guy who trained with us but now he's picked up his level. It's great for young guys like that coming through the academy."
At international level, the England-born defender has been fast-tracked through the U.S. youth setup and represented the under-23s as a 16-year-old, before being named as the youngest player in the squad for the Under-20 World Cup in 2015.