Joe Rodon made his full debut for Tottenham at the weekend.
The 23-year-old was handed his first start against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and, barring a couple of mistakes, the Wales centre-back did well for his new side.
Rodon joined Spurs from Swansea City in the last transfer window and has only featured in cameos in the Premier League so far. But an injury to Toby Alderweireld handed the youngster an opportunity and he took it in west London.
His performance drew praise from Roy Keane in the Sky Sports studios, while pitchside analyst Jamie Redknapp described the moment, which appeared to slip under the radar, manager Jose Mourinho went "crazy" at Rodon in the second half.
“I can imagine the second half, Jose said to his team, ‘Let’s get the point’," said former Spurs and Liverpool midfielder Redknapp.
"They lost two games to Chelsea last season, they were outclassed in both games, so, 'Let’s make sure we get something, by hook or by crook, we’re gonna make sure we’re defensively sound'.
"There was an example when Rodon went forward with the ball, I watched Jose and his assistant when he did that, they went crazy at him.
"'Get back, we want to be defensively so sound', he didn’t want his full-backs to push on too much, even when he brings on Ben Davies at the end.
"He wants the point, he knows how vital it is. They beat Man City last week, three brilliant points, and then to get a point at a vibrant Chelsea side, he’ll be delighted with that.
"It’s not pretty, but he’s trying to turn this Spurs side into winners - it’s gonna take some time, but the signs are really good from them.”
At Swansea, Rodon was praised and encouraged to bring the ball out of defence and start attacks, something he is extremely adept at, but it appears his new manager would like him to be more cautious in possession.
Overall, Mourinho said post-match that he was happy with Rodon's full bow and made a telling comparison with Chelsea's senior defender Thiago Silva.
Mourinho said: “It’s difficult, but he showed good personality.
"I want to analyse the game step-by-step with him, but from my fast analysis during the non-stop 90 minutes, I got one mistake that ended with an offside goal, and another one with a back-header to Hugo (Lloris) that found (Olivier) Giroud.
"After that, he was solid, brave, comfortable, and that for me, is an important thing.
"You compare the two teams, and you look at the two centre-backs and you say, Thiago Silva coming from an amazing career at the highest level, and Joe Rodon coming from Swansea in the Championship. I have to be happy with the kid.”
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