Speaking after his side’s 2-2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, Birchall shared his memories of the 21-year-old forward.

“I was never his head coach, but I used to take him for striker training and things like that. You see my face light up when I think about him.

“He was fully committed to getting better every day. I thought he had a real resilience about him as a person. He was able to take on board ideas and development areas and come up with his own.

“We had some fun days on the training pitch, practising his finishing and things like that. As a human being, he was an exceptional young man, and as a football player, he had a lot of talent.

“It’s really, really sad. We’re all thinking about his family right now, and our thoughts, prayers and love go out to them.”