Joe Ledley has warned Ben Woodburn to expect to stay on the bench due to Tom Lawrence’s red-hot form.
Lawrence smashed a brilliant winner in Georgia on Friday for his first international goal.
Wales midfielder Ledley and Lawrence are team-mates for both club and country at Derby.
In the two previous matches, teenage Woodburn turned both games with a late goal against Austria on debut and an assist against Moldova.
But Ledley says Lawrence deserves to keep his place for Monday’s final qualifier at home to the Republic of Ireland after Wales’ third successive win.
Ledley said: “Tom is a great player to play with. He is brilliant, you see him in training doing shots like that, even free-kicks.
“He has that in the bag and it was only a matter of time before he got his first goal for his country.
“Obviously Ben has a great future but he has to be patient and he knows that.
“He has set the world alight when he has come on these last few campaign games.
“But Tom has started a few and hopefully he can keep his place and if he keeps doing that I am sure he will.”
Lawrence’s goal was his first for Wales in nine appearances. He is yet to score this term for new club following a £5million summer switch from Premier League Leicester.
But Ledley says the player has blossomed in the last 12 months after a loan at Ipswich where he scored 11 and got as many assists.
Ledley added: “He was fantastic last year at Ipswich and has proved it now at international level which is one of the hardest competitions to play in.
“He has come on leaps and bounds, especially the last few years. He has not scored for Derby yet this season but he is our biggest threat.
“When he has the ball, he can create anything at Derby. If he gets into positions like that it is only a matter of time before he scores.”