Tuesday 15 September 2015 11:14, UK
Liverpool's Joe Gomez will face testing moments during his development but will eventually go on to play for England, according to former Charlton team-mate Roger Johnson.
Gomez has impressed with his early season performances after displacing Alberto Moreno and starting Liverpool's first five Premier League games in an unfamiliar role at left-back.
But the 18-year-old, who was fast-tracked into the England U21 squad, making his debut against Norway last week, conceded a penalty in Liverpool's 3-1 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday.
"Obviously he still needs to learn his trade but he'll learn that through playing more games," Johnson told Sky Sports.
"He'll make mistakes - that's part and parcel of the game - but as long as he listens to the people around him, who have had a fair bit of experience, he won't go too far wrong because he has all the natural attributes.
"He is a great player for his age. He's strong, quick, athletic. As the years go on I expect him to go on and become a full international and I just hope he keeps performing well enough to stay in that team and get another good season under his belt."
Johnson spent the second half of last season at Charlton following a three-and-a-half year spell with Wolves, and the 32-year-old insists Gomez's talent was evident as soon as he arrived at The Valley.
"I knew straight away he was going to make it and the best thing about it is he is such a lovely boy," Johnson said.
He is a great player for his age. He's strong, quick, athletic. As the years go on I expect him to go on and become a full international.
"We still speak and he rang me to ask my advice about whether he should go to a big club. We really got on well despite the fact that he was such a young lad and I'm an old boy. But he's so down-to-earth, he listens and it was a real pleasure to play with him.
"I watched the first game he played at left-back (for Liverpool against Stoke) and he played well.
"Naturally, he's an out-and-out centre-back, maybe a right-back. He's not a left-back but he's still managed to show his class because he has not looked out of place there at all."
With almost 500 games in the Premier League and Football League under his belt, Johnson is preparing for a new chapter in his career with FC Pune City in the Indian Super League (ISL).
"The ISL is a new challenge for me and I'm looking forward to this new adventure," Johnson added.
"It's an intriguing prospect and I'm looking forward to trying and make a name for myself."
