For a man who is yet to make 30 appearances at senior level, Tyrick Mitchell has played with a maturity well beyond his years so far this season.
The 22-year-old has played every minute of Crystal Palace's opening four Premier League games under Patrick Vieira and had one of his best performances for the club on Saturday against Spurs.
Mitchell was up and down the left flank all afternoon, helping Wilfried Zaha out offensively where possible and even having a looping cross cleared off the line by Sergio Reguilon when the game was still goalless.
By the end of the match, he'd had more touches of the ball (93) than any other player on the pitch, registered the joint-most tackles on his team (four, with Conor Gallagher) and made the most long balls (11) out of any outfield player.
Mitchell also won 16 of his 29 duels - which is more than he has managed in his three previous Premier League matches combined.
As a result of his performance, the left-back was named in Alan Shearer's team of the week, featuring alongside teammates Zaha and Marc Guehi as well as manager Patrick Vieira.
Palace fans have loved seeing Mitchell improve as he plays more in the team, and his recent form is made all the more impressive given his juniority in the game,
Last season, under Roy Hodgson, Mitchell was rotated at left-back with Patrick van Aanholt, making a total of 19 league appearances throughout the campaign and signing a new four-year deal with the club in April.
Over the summer Palace decided not to renew van Aanholt's contract, which expired at the end of June, with the Dutchman leaving the club after five years of service and moving to Turkey to play for Galatasaray.
It was a busy transfer window for Palace who also let go of a number of other first-team players including Gary Cahill, Wayne Hennessey, Andros Townsend and Mamadou Sakho.
But despite good spending money on signings including Joachim Andersen, Michael Olise and Odsonne Edouard, there was nobody signed to replace van Aanholt.
The club clearly felt they had enough cover for that position, with Palace previously fielding both Jeffrey Schlupp and Jairo Raiedewald at left-back in the past if van Aanholt or Mitchell were unavailable.
The Eagles also have a more direct backup option in 21-year-old Reece Hannam, who has so far been on the bench for Vieira in the Premier League matches against Chelsea and West Ham.
Mitchell is clearly the first choice for the season though, and that's because his style of play fits with how Vieira wants his full-backs to operate while on the pitch.
After a pre-season win against Ipswich Town, football.london spoke to the 22-year-old who explained how his new manager was asking him to adapt his game.
He said: "There's more emphasis on me getting forward and joining in on the attacks.
"It's something that I feel is going to add to my game. I'd love to get more goals here and there and more assists, and show a different side to me."
So far this season Mitchell is already showing what he can offer the team both defensively and going forward, and at 22 he can be a player that can tie down the left-back spot in the Palace team for years to come.
