Savo Milosevic picked up his mobile phone in the Yugoslavian training camp near Antwerp yesterday and heard a familiar voice.

'I just called to wish you luck on Sunday and for the rest of the tournament,' said the caller. 'You have proved to the world what I always knew - that you are a top-class player.'

The caller was Brian Little, the former Aston Villa manager who paid £3.5million for the tall striker and then stood by him when most of football thought he was something of a joke.

But it is Milosevic who has had the last laugh. This afternoon in Rotterdam he will seek to extend his lead at the top of the Euro 2000 scoring list against Holland in the quarter-finals.

But whatever happens, the 27-year-old forward can still look forward to a money-spinning career in Italy, with Lazio ready to splash £21million to sign him from Spanish club Real Zaragoza.

Little has noted the resurgence of the shy, uncertain forward since his successor, John Gregory, sold him to Zaragoza two years ago for the price Villa paid Partizan Belgrade for him in 1995.

'I'm not surprised in the slightest to hear he could be on his way to Italy for a lot of money,' he said yesterday. 'Savo was always an excellent player - a terrific athlete; maybe not the quickest but he runs all day and he has wonderful skill.'

Little has descended to humbler surroundings as manager of Third Division Hull City but he recalled the power and potential of the Milosevic-Dwight Yorke striking partnership which took Villa to the higher reaches of the Premiership table when he was in charge.

'Poking fun at Savo became a little bit of a bandwagon that people jumped on,' remembered the former Villa boss.

'But people within the football club, and certainly a lot of people in the game, were always aware of his talent and the ability he had - all he is doing now is proving them right.'