Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has explained summer signing Victor Lindelof needs time to adapt to the demands of the Premier League, while acknowledging the Swede's fantastic potential.
The defender was left out of United's matchday squad for the 4-0 thumping of West Ham at Old Trafford on Sunday, with Eric Bailly and Phil Jones at centre-back.
The 54-year-old compared Lindelof's arrival to Ricardo Carvalho's at Chelsea in 2004, when Mourinho was in charge of the London club.
He noted how the Portuguese defender struggled during the early stages of his Chelsea career following his big money switch from Porto.
Carvalho turned out to be a huge hit at Chelsea under Mourinho, as they won the Premier League together on two occasions, along with two League cups and the Community Shield.
Mourinho said: "In 2004 I bought a phenomenal central defender to England, Ricardo Carvalho.
"He was one of the best central defenders in the last decade in the Premier League but he struggled and it was difficult for him to come and adapt in the beginning.
"Victor needs a little bit of time and he is going to have that time.
"Let’s go step by step because Victor is a fantastic player."
Fellow arrivals at Old Trafford Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic both made their debuts for the club against hammers but Mourinho pointed out one key difference between the duo and Lindelof.
He said: "The difference between Lukaku and Matic is that they have years and years of experience of Premier League."
Despite Lindelof's omission from the Red's squad at the weekend, he did start in the UEFA Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid in Skopje last week.
However, Mourinho revealed the 23-year-old that match came too early for him but his services were needed with Bailly and Jones suspended.
Many have been quick to criticise Lindelof for his performances in pre-season and the Super Cup but with the promise he displayed at Benfica to earn his £31 million switch to Old Trafford, he needs to be given the time to develop his game in one of the toughest leagues in the world.
If the Swede becomes United's very own Carvalho then they'll have a world class defender on their hands for many years to come.
