Sam Curtis made his Premier League debut for Sheffield United on Saturday and his former St Patrick's Athletic team-mate Eoin Doyle believes the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international has the character to build on his latest breakthrough.
Still just 18, Curtis's last game for St Pat's was last November's FAI Cup final win at the Aviva Stadium before he made a long-mooted move abroad, with the Blades sealing his signature in January on a deal that will run until 2027.
The Navan-born right-back was quickly fast-tracked into Sheffield United's matchday squads from late February onwards but his first minutes of Premier League action did not come until this Saturday, when he was brought on in the 63rd minute of the 1-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park, touching the ball 15 times and being dispossessed once.
Blades boss Chris Wilder tempered expectations around the 2023 PFAI Young Player of the Year in the aftermath of the game, saying that "it wasn't by any means an accomplished debut" and that "he has to get up to speed as well if he wants to be part of everything going forward".
Despite those comments, the fact that the manager has kept Curtis in and around the matchday squads suggests he rates the Meath man highly.
"Not only to the coaches, he'd ask the senior pros after matches how we thought he'd done in games, so he's constantly trying to improve himself.
"The best thing about Sam which I found about him was that if he makes a mistake, he never makes it twice.
"So he could make a mistake and then 10 games later, the same opportunity would happen and he wouldn't make the same mistake again. He really learns on the job and he's very, very good at that.
"Regarding the comments from Wilder, they're probably a little bit harsh for an 18-year-old making his debut in the Premier League, but I'd imagine knowing Wilder that I'd say he's just trying to keep Sam grounded.
"At the end of the day, he has just made his Premier League debut at the age of 18 and that can be a bit of a tough thing for young lads and I'd imagine it's one of them; it's a well done but 'listen, this is the start of it now, let's not get carried away.'
"I'm delighted for him. He deserves everything because he's fully committed, he gives absolutely everything to be a better player and please god next year he gets a good run in the team."
That being said, while the teenager might be inexperienced at Premier League level, he has plenty of muscle memory to draw on from the men's game, both within the League of Ireland and Europa Conference League qualifiers.
It's a sentiment, ex-Pat's captain and manager Johnny McDonnell agrees with as he said on the podcast alongside Doyle this week.
"To be playing competitive football at 16, 17 years of age has to stand to him," he said.
"I remember Curtis Fleming going away from Pat's and they said the same thing about Curtis. He went straight into the Middlesbrough squad, with a good squad with Bryan Robson and Viv Anderson.
"But they were astonished how well up to speed he was but that's because he was playing in a competitive league and that's going to be the same for Sam."
McDonnell added that it might be a blessing in disguise for Curtis in the immediate future that Sheffield United have been relegated from the Premier League and will be tackling the second tier Championship.
"He might get a bit more game-time in the Championship and that will build his confidence and build him as a player and as a person," he said, adding that he was part of a crop of exciting 18- to 19-year-old Irish players, headed most notably by Brighton and Ireland senior striker Evan Ferguson, who are at varying points in their trajectories since moving across the Irish Sea.
"I'd seen him playing as a young kid with St Kevin's, him and Evan in the one team, and Adam Murphy who was at Pat's as well - Adam is at Bristol City - so that group of players has done well at getting away, so maybe a little bit of hope for the future.
"Great to see him making his debut and as Eoin said, he's a good kid and he's focused and that's all you want from him and you just hope he gets a bit of luck and stays injury-free."
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