Kingsley Coman has the potential to follow in Franck Ribery's footsteps, former Bayern Munich defender Willy Sagnol has said.
France under-21 international Coman has joined Bayern on a two-year loan from Juventus and is set to be included in Pep Guardiola's squad for Saturday's Bundesliga meeting with FC Augsburg.
The 19-year-old, whose move can be made permanent for €21 million at any point until April 2017, joined the club along with Douglas Costa amid ongoing concerns over the fitness of Arjen Robben and particularly Ribery.
Bordeaux boss Sagnol, who played for Bayern from 2000 to 2009, said the former Paris Saint-Germain winger has similarities with Ribery even if he still has much work to do.
Ex-France international Sagnol told kicker: "The two have much in common, yet Kingsley has to work a lot to become as good as Franck. But he is young and has a lot of time.
"As an attacking player he needs to score more goals. He's a team player who always wants to pass the ball, but he also has to work for his personal stats."
Bayern sporting executive Matthias Sammer, also speaking to kicker, said he is not concerned that Coman failed to establish himself as a first-team regular at either PSG or Juve.
He cited Bayern's philosophy of banking on wingers and added: "We are delighted to have signed Kingsley."
On whether Coman would be in the squad this weekend, he said: "I'd like to think so."
Bayern remain uncertain when Ribery will be able to return from the ankle problems that have seen him sidelined since March.
The 32-year-old has yet to return to team training and, asked about a possible return date, Sammer said: "You can't say anything right now."
He said the Bundesliga champions are "mildly optimistic" but won't put any pressure on Ribery.
"Franck has tried it [to resume training] every once in a while, but sometimes sadly stressed [his ankle] too early," he added.
During the recent international break, Robben suffered yet another injury setback while with Netherlands, and he is likely to miss the rest of the month.
His absence could open the door for Germany international Mario Gotze, whose performances for the World Cup winners provided a much-needed confidence boost for a player who had fallen down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola.
"He already hinted at his good shape for us," Sammer said, adding that he was delighted to see Gotze play well for the national team. "By the way, the foundations for that were laid here. The national team has no time to train."
Sammer said Gotze's vow to assert himself at Bayern instead of leaving the club this summer was "the first major step towards a better future" for the 23-year-old.
"Mario can play six positions in our system," Sammer said, referring to the left and right wing, central attacking midfield, a solo attacking role, as part of a two-man attack in a 3-5-2, and even in a "more defensive" midfield role.