Leicester City’s academy player Joe Dodoo admitted he was stunned after scoring a hat-trick on his debut in the 4-1 win against the League One side Bury in the League Cup on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old midfielder was the standout player as Leicester ran riot over their hosts in the second-round encounter at Gigg Lane.

“It’s amazing. I could never have thought this was going to happen. It’s an amazing day,” Dodoo said after the match.

“I have to thank the manager and the players for helping me through the game. The manager gave me an opportunity and a lot of them just talked me through the game … but it’s an amazing feeling. Really amazing.”

Dodoo’s first goal, which came in the 25th minute, was arguably the pick of the bunch. After controlling a pass from the forward Leonardo Ulloa, he lifted the ball over the Bury defender Peter Clarke and smashed an unstoppable volley over the head of the goalkeeper Christian Walton which then went in off the bar.

The striker Andrej Kramaric added a second and although Bury struck back after the break through Danny Mayor, Dodoo killed the game off with two low finishes in the last four minutes.

The first had a touch of fortune about it, with the player seemingly in an offside position, but the flag stayed down allowing him to slot home through a despairing Walton’s legs.

There was no controversy about the third, however, after the substitute Jeff Schlupp charged down Walton’s attempted clearance and squared the ball for Dodoo to complete his hat-trick with an assured low finish.

The Leicester City manager, Claudio Ranieri, hailed Dodoo’s performance. “I am very happy with him. He deserved to show his quality and tonight made a very good job of it,” said Ranieri, whose side currently sit second in the Premier League table.

“I watched him once with the young players and he scored three goals. I wanted to play with wingers. I put him on the right and it was a good choice. It was a fantastic performance,” the manager added.