Joey Barton believes on-loan Middlesbrough striker Josh Coburn could lead the line for England in the future.

The Bristol Rovers boss says the 20-year-old has an "enormous future" and believes the striker is getting better by the week for the League One side.

Coburn didn't add to his five League One goals in Saturday's 1-0 win over Port Vale but led the line superbly, as Barton's side moved into the top half of the third tier table.

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The Richmond-born striker linked up with Rovers late this season after suffering a knee injury in Boro's opening day draw with West Brom but has made up for lost time by quickly establishing himself, and has five goals in 10 league appearances.

Boro do have the option of recalling Coburn in January but as things stand he looks likely to see out the season with Bristol Rovers, where his loan spell is playing out exactly as key figures at Rockliffe hoped it would.

In Barton, Coburn has a huge fan, with the Bristol Rovers boss purring about the striker again and again this season. And with his latest praise, Barton has made a Zlatan Ibrahimovic reference and tipped the Boro man to play for England in the future.

He told Bristol Live: “For 20, you’ll struggle to see someone come into League One and handle the game at the level that he does.

“I’ve said it many times before I think he’s a real talent, Middlesbrough have got a fantastic prospect on their hands and we’re proud and privileged to have him in our team and he’s grown from the regular rhythm of games. You can see his performances growing week by week and again he was head and shoulders the quality player on the pitch.

“When you watch him play, it’s just the things he does - his composure, his touch and he’s very much baby faced. If you saw a snapshot of his head you’d think he’s only 14 but he’s got that frame, but it’s not just that, it’s the way he uses it.

“Josh is a huge player in our team. But I think he has an enormous future out in front of him. If he gets a little bit of luck with injuries, I think he could go on to play for England.

“For someone of that size, his athleticism, the way he goes looking for work; it’s just me saying this, so I’m not comparing him to this player but there’s a few strikers who you play against over the course of your journey as a player who do things differently.

“I always remember playing against Zlatan Ibrahimovic and he went looking for physicality with the opposition centre-half and very rarely do you see forwards doing that, unless they’re the big bent nosed, physical centre-forward. Josh has got that level of looking for physicality but he’s got a real touch of class about him. It’s a rare combination.”

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