Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho continues to be showered with praise for his excellent stretch of matches, and his compatriot Neymar became the latest to express his admiration for the 22-year-old on Thursday, claiming that he will one day be the Premier League’s best player.

As reported by the Daily Mirror‘s David Anderson, the Barcelona star believes fans and pundits are finally starting to see what his good friend can do:

He can be the star player in England. This season I think everybody in England is seeing how talented he is—and I know he has a lot more to show.

We have been good friends since we were 16. Not only is he a fantastic player, he is a good guy to have in the dressing room, always positive and making jokes.

The midfielder put in another fantastic performance for the Reds in their 2-1 FA Cup win over Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday, scoring a stunning goal to seal progression to the next round, per the FA’s official Twitter feed:

In the wake of that match, the young Brazilian was widely hailed as one of the Premier League’s fastest rising stars. The Daily Mail even believes he has the potential to emulate Barcelona legend Ronaldinho:

Team-mate Jordan Henderson told Liverpool’s official Twitter feed his job becomes a whole lot easier when he has guys like Coutinho and Raheem Sterling around him:

Coutinho has now scored three goals and handed out four assists in the Premier League and FA Cup, via WhoScored.com, and everyone seems to agree that this is only the beginning for the Brazil international, who joined the Reds from Inter Milan in 2013.

Liverpool’s 2014-15 campaign has been predictably inconsistent in the wake of Luis Suarez‘s departure for Barcelona, but Brendan Rodgers’ young squad has turned things around in the past two months, and the Reds currently sit just four points outside the Premier League top five.

Per Goal, Rodgers believes Coutinho has the potential to replace the Uruguay international:

While it’s tempting to get carried away with all the praise following Coutinho’s strong run of matches, it’s important to remember the Brazilian is just 22 years old. There are bound to be some struggles in the future, and putting too much pressure on his young shoulders now could hurt his development.

In many ways, Coutinho perfectly represents the current Liverpool squad: heaps of potential and the promise of a bright future, as long as people are willing to be patient.

All signs point to even bigger and better things for Coutinho, and if the youngster continues his rapid progression, the Reds should return to the Premier League title conversation in the 2015-16 season.

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