Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish confessed to being excited by youth prospect Nathan Redmond after his cameo in the 3-2 Carling Cup win over Rochdale.
Redmond became the second youngest player ever to appear for the club last night - after club legend Trevor Francis - when he came off the bench with 12 minutes remaining.
At 16 years and 173 days old the winger can certainly be classified as a raw talent but in his short time on the pitch he showed enough to suggest that he has a bright future ahead.
On at least two occasions he darted in from the left flank to hammer 25-yard shots just wide and looked a threat every time he was involved.
McLeish said: "Nathan looked great. It wasn`t a big crowd but the fans who were here really warmed to him instantly.
"He's very bright and quick, he got shots away on goal and he excited me.
"It looks like he has a bright future. He is electric and showed his versatility by coming in off the line and getting shots away.
"He was a handful for Rochdale. We had him in the squad and felt it was a good game for us to blood him.
"I wanted to bring him on if we were doing well in the game and even though we had just conceded a second goal I decided to risk him and it paid off."
Goals from James McFadden, Matt Derbyshire and David Murphy gave Blues the win in the end despite Rochdale captain Gary Jones scoring a brace.
The League One side were on top until the break but his side`s flowing performance left manager Keith Hill with little to cheer about.
He said: "I adore football, it's a massive part of my life and I enjoy seeing players develop. We expressed ourselves out there but my philosophy will mean nothing if we don't get results.
"We have got limited financial resources but the club is run properly and that is testament to the club.
"But we have made a step up this season and that is beginning to show."
