With the likes of Nathan Redmond, Jack Butland and Demarai Gray having coming through the academy in recent years, it was heartening to see another youngster make their mark on the first team.
Wes Harding`s first league start last weekend showed a great deal of promise for the future, but it was still a brave call by the manager to put in him at the deep end.
We have been struggling to find a right back with Maxime Colin having to cover the left hand side in Jonathan Grounds’s absence, but it seems that the 21-year-old has staked his claim for a starting spot for between now and the end of the season.
Usually a centre back, he performed very well against the Tigers bearing in mind it was his league debut. He not only had to play out of position but was coming up against an in-form player in Harry Wilson.
The Welshman is on loan from Liverpool, and prior to the match on Saturday, he had made a massive impact since his arrival in January with three goals and two assists in just six appearances. Yet, despite the winger threatening to cause trouble in the early exchanges, our no.45 kept him quiet for the most part.
A strong early tackle let his opponent know he was in for a game, and for the rest of the match, he kept the winger shackled, whilst also managing to make a few forays forward at the same time. He had an assuredness about him that gives me great hope for the future that he`ll be a first team regular for us.
With Grounds out for the season, Colin will continue to deputise on the left. So would you keep Harding in the team for the remainder of the campaign? Let me know in the poll.
