Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuaín has heaped praise on his teammate and compatriot Paulo Dybala claiming that the 23-year-old has everything it takes to become one of the best players in the world.

Injury has hampered Dybala’s contribution this season but the Córdoba native has still managed three goals and two assists to help Juventus to a commanding lead at the top of Seria A. His spectacular form following the €32 million transfer from Palermo saw the Bianconeri win the league title, the Coppa Italia and the 2015 Supercoppa and Higuaín sees similarities with Argentina captain Lionel Messi.

“Dybala and Messi are very similar. Messi is the best and he shows that every day but Paulo is still young. He is 23 years old and he still has his future ahead of him. He has everything to become one of the best players in the world,” explained Higuaín.

“He has to be mentally strong. To get to such a high level so fast is not easy and it is not easy to maintain that level over several years. There will be lots of ups and downs, he has to stay focused and not listen to either criticism or praise.”

Dybala has already needed to show such mental fortitude after his red card for Argentina against Uruguay in September and last week’s penalty miss against AC Milan in the Supercoppa.

⚽️💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/Hf51V9Qz7Z

— Paulo Dybala (@PauDybala_JR) December 24, 2016

There is no doubting Dybala’s talent and while his influence at Juventus continues to grow, 2017 should see the youngster cement his place in the Argentina starting eleven.

Higuaín has been in great goalscoring form himself since making the record breaking €90 million to the Italian champions and Edgardo Bauza admitted that the 29-year-old remains his first choice number nine for La Albiceleste.

Talking about his influences growing up, Higuaín made a somewhat surprising choice when asked about the best centre forward.

“When I was a child, I watched Italian football and there were a lot of great forwards like David Trezeguet, Gabriel Batistuta, Hernán Crespo and Vincenzo Montella but for me, the best of all time is Ronaldo.”