Grant McCann has hailed Keane Lewis-Potter as a “special talent” after the forward’s memorable first week of the season.
The 19-year-old opened his account for 2020/21 with a diving header against Leicester City U21s in the EFL Trophy – three days after scoring the winning penalty in the Carabao Cup at Sunderland.
Hull-born Lewis-Potter made 22 appearances for the Tigers last term and McCann has high hopes for the academy product – but insists young players must be managed carefully.
“Keano will play a huge role this season,” said McCann. “The kid’s a special talent. Wherever we play him across that frontline, he’ll create and score goals.
“He can be anything he wants to be. He’s quick, he’s getting stronger. If you see him physically now compared to where he was this time last year, he’s head and shoulders above in terms of his physique. He’s got all the tools to be anything he wants.
“With young players you need to keep on at them. They need to keep understanding what’s expected on an everyday level. We’ve got good staff around here to help Keano keep progressing.
“He’s only 19 years of age – people seem to forget that. We’ve got to be careful with him. I’ve seen it before with young players – they get thrown into the deep end and it doesn’t work. We’ve got to careful and play him when the time is right and I think we’ll get a better impact from him then.”