Heighway said: "Neil isn't doing anything differently now than he did when he we first saw him playing at youth level. He always scored goals.
"People talk about where he needs to improve, and I'm sure he will, but it's a similar situation with Neil as it was with Robbie Fowler when he came into the senior side.
"Everyone knows what a tremendous goalscorer Robbie became, but there were other areas of his game which needed work."