Jon Dahl Tomasson immediately saw the potential in Adam Wharton and he praised his improvement this season for Blackburn Rovers.

The talented boyhood midfielder signed a new five-year contract at Ewood Park on Friday, extending his stay by a further year. Considering the speculation and reported Premier League interest in Wharton, it is a major coup for the club to tie him down.

Tomasson has been a huge supporter of Wharton since he arrived at the club. Wharton impressed in his first pre-season and was immediately promoted to the first team, as a result.

There were ups and downs in his breakthrough season but this campaign, he has played almost every minute he has been available for. Tomasson has been pleased with his development and once again reiterated the potential Wharton has to make it at the top level of the game.

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“I saw immediately the potential in Adam when I came here,” Tomasson told RoversTV. “I gave him minutes immediately and then I took him out of the team because I thought he needed to learn about being a professional football player.

“I saw the quality on the ball. He can do things that nobody sees before, he can play passes under pressure, he can play one-touch and he has great vision.

“I think he’s stepping up to another level from the start of this season. On the ball, he’s Champions League level, I’ve said that many times. I’ve played there and coached enough at Champions League level and I should know that.

"I think he’s learning a lot off the ball and is improving a lot. He’s still a young boy who needs to learn a lot but he’s improving really well.

“He’s a good boy and someone who the Academy have worked with, so it’s great for the community to have one of the local boys signing a new deal and playing the way he is.

“He also has weaknesses that we’re working on and he’s improving all the time. You can always work on becoming better. There’s still plenty to come.”