Aston Villa midfielder Carlos Sanchez has admitted that he was very impressed with the debut performance of teammate Carles Gil against Liverpool.

The Spanish midfielder joined Paul Lambert's men from Valencia last week, and made his debut as a substitute against the Reds at Villa Park, playing 31 minutes of their 2-0 defeat.

Sanchez feels that the 22-year-old will bring a great deal of creativity to the team and is upbeat about his future with the club.

He told the club's official website: "I think for his first Premier League game, his performance against Liverpool was at a very high level. The fans were really enthusiastic with him and that was really good to see.

"He's a really good player. He is very skilful and very creative and I believe he will be a big asset for the team.

"We were waiting at the weekend to see what he could bring because he'd only trained two days before the game. But every player and fan saw that we have signed a real quality midfielder. I was impressed greatly. That was only his first game. He has a big future."

Villa face Bournemouth in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.