Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes was left stunned by the performance of Sven Botman in their Premier League victory on Sunday afternoon.
Can Newcastle end their Champions League drought?
The Magpies are certainly making big strides towards returning to Europe's top table with their last appearance in the competition coming back in 2003.
And the fresh faces brought in under Eddie Howe's reign are quickly becoming local heroes with the likes of Guimaraes and Botman proving to be key figures in this new era on Tyneside.
The victory against the Red Devils not only provided the Toon Army with a taste of revenge following their Carabao Cup defeat last month, but also sees them leapfrog United into third spot.
Newcastle's time in third may be short-lived with Tottenham Hotspur travelling to Goodison Park on Monday night, however, the clash on Merseyside will restore their two-game advantage over the Londoners.
On the back of being handed the Player of the Match award himself, Guimaraes took to Botman's post-game Instagram image to praise the £90k-per-week defender's display:
How good was Botman on Sunday?
Howe's side have been rock solid at the back this season and boast the Premier League's tightest defence having only conceded 19 goals.
To put that into context, Manchester City – who have the second-best record – have conceded seven more goals and league leaders Arsenal have conceded eight more.
And the summer signing, Botman, has been at the centre of this stunning form having now played 25 times in the Premier League this term (via Transfermarkt).
In the Red Devils, Newcastle were coming up against one of the league's most in-form forwards with Marcus Rashford returning to the fold.
However, it proved to be a muted 90 minutes for the 26-year-old who had just 29 touches of the ball and registered no shots at all (via SofaScore).
In comparison, Botman – who's been labelled a "Rolls Royce defender" by journalist Jordan Cronin – racked up three interceptions, one block and one clearance as the Magpies limited the visitors to just one shot on Nick Pope's goal (via SofaScore).
What has been equally impressive is Botman's disciplinary record having received just one yellow card in over 2000 minutes of league action (via Transfermarkt).
Botman was not included in the Netherlands' 2022 World Cup squad late last year and his form in his first Premier League campaign is certainly making a mockery of that decision.
But it is apparent the 23-year-old's efforts are not going unnoticed by his teammates with Guimaraes full of praise for the Dutch defender.
