England midfielder James Milner has urged caution over building Dele Alli up too early.
The 19-year-old has quickly established himself as a key figure for both title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur and England this season, having only been playing League One football for MK Dons last term.
The youngster further enhanced his burgeoning reputation during the Easter international break, but Milner believes that he can still improve tenfold.
"The step-up he has made this season and his form week-in, week-out and then stepping up in to England and taking those performances in. We want to be careful now and make sure we don't put too much on him. We know how good he can be but we have seen it time and time again. 'This player is going to be the next world-beater for us' and there is a lot of pressure there," he told reporters.
"We want to take it off him and let him go out there and not worry about it, worry about playing football and keep improving because he is still young. As good as he is at this moment he can be 10 times better and he will.
"He has a great attitude and will keep working hard and keep improving but we need to take that spotlight off him and let him develop and improve. We have seen how good he is and he will only get better I'm sure. The manager knows when to play him and is not overusing him. I think it is down to him as well, we know he has got a great head on his shoulders and he is a calm guy."
Alli was only handed a short cameo during England's 2-1 defeat to Netherlands on Tuesday night, but was instrumental in Saturday's victory over Germany.
Barney Corkhill
