Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay has been backed by Nemanja Matic to develop into a "great player".

The youngster starred for the Red Devils at youth level last season – making his senior debut as a substitute in the 2-0 loss away at Arsenal back in May – and was rewarded with a first start in the Champions League in Tuesday night`s 2-0 win over Benfica.

Playing alongside Matic in central midfield, the 20-year-old acquitted himself well at Old Trafford and the Serbian international has predicted a bright future for McTominay.

"I think Scott is going to be a great player and already is a great player," the Serbian told MUTV.

"He`s very young, very talented and physically strong. I`m sure he is the future of Manchester United and I enjoy playing with him because he also works really hard and is very confident.

"I`m going to help him in training because I think with his potential he`s going to be a big star for Manchester United."

A tall and physically powerful central midfielder, McTominay – who interestingly went through an amazing growth spurt that saw his height increase from 5ft6 to 6ft3 in the space of 18 months – looks set to benefit from injuries to the likes of Marouane Fellaini and Paul Pogba in the meantime.

He played the entire 90 minutes at the `Theatre of Dreams` completing 86% of his passes, succeeded with all three attempted take-ons, made three interceptions and mustered a couple of shots – one of which was saved by Mile Svilar.