THE world’s best footballer believes Barrow’s young Manchester City starlet Georgia Stanway has the footballing world at her feet and a bright future in the game.

FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year Carli Lloyd was full of praise for the 18-year-old ahead of tomorrow’s Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

Stanway’s talent has already attracted praise from many involved in football, and she was nominated for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2016.

The Furness teenager joined City from Blackburn Rovers in 2015, and went on to win the club’s Rising Star award that year.

She also won their 2016 goal of the season prize for her sensational long-range effort against Liverpool on the opening day of last season.

The Barrow youngster, who started out as a junior at Blackburn Rovers, penned her first professional terms with City in January, and has started the season brightly.

She assisted Lucy Bronze’s goal in City’s 1-1 draw with Birmingham City Ladies in the first game of the Women’s Super League Spring Series, and the two sides meet again tomorrow in the SSE Women’s FA Cup final.

American Lloyd, on loan from Houston Dash until the end of the Spring Series, has been impressed with what she has seen of her young team-mate so far.

“Georgia has just turned 18 and is like a sponge,” said Lloyd. “I can see her looking at what I do and asking question after question.

“It’s really good to see young players who want to soak it all in.”

Those thoughts were echoed by City captain Steph Houghton, who has been most impressed with Stanway’s attitude and willingness to learn, with both hoping for further success as Manchester City chase a maiden SSE FA Cup win at Wembley.

She said: “The likes of Georgia hang off every single word that we say and try and learn.

“They try and learn and ask questions and it’s important we try and set a good example for those young players.

“The FA Cup, whether it’s women’s football or men’s football, is the one that everyone wants to win, everybody wants to be part of, and it’s full of so many amazing memories, whether it’s women’s football or men’s football.

“That’s the competition you grow up watching, as a player it’s the one you want to tick off.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to win it twice with Arsenal, but the next step is to win it with Manchester City – hopefully it will be a very special day.”

l Carli Lloyd was speaking on behalf of Manchester City ahead of the SSE Women’s FA Cup final. Kids go free to final and tickets are still available via TheFA.com/Tickets