Champions League winner Paul Lambert believes Reading teenager Caylan Vickers needs 'developing' and has compared him with Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham.
18-year-old Vickers made his first-team debut this season and has made 19 appearances for the club, scoring three times.
Out of contract next summer, Arsenal and Real Madrid have been linked with the creative midfielder in national media, with dozens of scouts sent weekly to watch the diminutive star.
Lambert, a vastly experienced manager with the likes of Aston Villa, Norwich City and Stoke City, was asked about Vickers and has made reference to England star Bellingham.
Breaking through with Birmingham City at just 16, he moved to Borussia Dortmund and impressed before making a £100m move to the Bernabéu over the summer.
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“I think players like Caylan Vickers are out there, it's just a matter of finding and recruiting them.
“Vickers is getting a lot of attention at Reading, and players like this must be developed," the Scot told Betway. "Look at Jude Bellingham - he went from Birmingham to Dortmund, and that spoke volumes about his mentality.
"Jude went from playing in front of 16,000 fans to over 80,000 fans! That changed his mindset and it moulded him into the type of player who could win games. The end result is Jude being one of the best young midfielders in the world.
“Jude Bellingham proves that these kinds of stories are possible, and clubs will be eager to find another like him. Bellingham took a while to find his feet at Dortmund, but this world-class player has emerged in a relatively short period of time.”
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