Everton winger Andros Townsend has praised centre-back Ben Godfrey after the defender's return to the side on Monday.

Godfrey, who missed the beginning of the Premier League season through injury, made his first start of the campaign on Monday, featuring for 61 minutes as the Toffees defeated Burnley 3-1 at Goodison Park.

The 23-year-old arrived in Merseyside from Norwich City at the beginning of last season and recently drew praise from Townsend, who joined the club in the summer and netted the second goal in Monday's victory from long range.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Townsend said: "Obviously I played against him last season and he's got massive potential, but seeing him on a day-to-day basis, he really is the real deal. Again, with a manager like Rafa who will work hard to improve him, he can really go to the very top."

Further expanding on the future of his teammate, the former Crystal Palace man went on to say: "I know he was involved in the England setup in the summer and didn't quite make the squad, but he's a player who's definitely going to go right to the very top sooner rather than later – and by very top I mean playing in major tournaments for England."

Rafael Benitez's men quickly overturned a deficit on home turf against Burnley, netting three goals in seven minutes to earn three points, and they return to action on Saturday with a trip to the Midlands to take on Aston Villa, with Godfrey set to feature in the squad once again following his recovery.