Jack Rodwell believes Apostolos Vellios has the potential to establish himself firmly in the Everton first-team picture.

The Greek has made an impact from the bench this season, scoring against Wigan and Chelsea and coming close to notching a winner against Aston Villa.

He earned a first start in the win at Fulham, and Rodwell admits he has been impressed by his cameos.

At just 20 years of age Rodwell recently racked up his 100th appearance for the Club, and he believes his Greek teammate is showing signs that he too could become a regular performer at Goodison Park.

“Hopefully he will get plenty of games or he can come on and make an impact like he has done recently,” he told evertonfc.com.

“He is a young striker and is from Greece so he needs to keep learning about the game in England but I think he has a lot of potential.”

Rodwell has been enjoying one of his strongest starts to a season, and he feels the combination of playing regular games for Everton and a starting role for the England Under-21 side has given him a solid foundation.

“I am pleased to get games under my belt,” he added. “Last season I was injured a lot so it feels really good to be getting games for both Everton and England.

“I feel a lot fitter, that match fitness is there; I feel sharper in the matches and also the confidence is there as well. It is all part of it and I feel strong at the moment.”

The challenge now for Rodwell is to build on a promising start to the campaign and he says staying injury free is the key to him progressing.

“There are a lot of players who have seen their progress interrupted by injury and, regretfully, that was the case for me last season,” he said. “So hopefully I can stay fit this time and get the games and the experience I need.

“It is out of my hands really but you can only do what you can. Make sure you are as fit as you can be, not take any chances or cut any corners in training and do your extra work in the gym.

“You know you are going to get knocks and niggles over the course of the season – that is inevitable – but hopefully I can avoid any serious injuries and play plenty of games.”