The name of Malachi Hardy has become a familiar sight on Tottenham’s teamsheet during a time of emergency in central defence.
Still only 16 and born a fortnight after the last time Spurs won a major trophy, he has found his progress accelerated by injuries to Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies.
He has been on the bench to savour the hostility of Ibrox in the Europa League against Rangers, the thrilling win in a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United, the incredible 4-0 victory at Manchester City and in the north London derby defeat at Arsenal.
He was among six teenagers named among the subs at Everton and is likely to be required to make up the numbers again as Ange Postecoglou gathers as many fit players as possible for a trip to Germany to take on Hoffenheim in the Europa League on Thursday.
Hardy, however, is not there by accident. He has impressed Postecoglou and his staff with his natural ability and temperament while training regularly with the first team and has been in the matchday squad on eight occasions across the last two months, including for some of the biggest matches of the season.
Tottenham will hope the experience serves him well because Hardy has been identified as one of the gems emerging from within the academy as technical director Johan Lange tries to shift the club’s focus towards the recruitment and development of young talent.
Born in Watford, Hardy joined the club at the age of eight and, having moved back from central midfield, is rated among the best central defenders in Europe from his year group.
Right-footed, he is composed in possession, passes the ball well and is aggressive in the challenge. At 6ft 3in tall, he has an imposing stature with aerial strength and excellent recovery speed, and an ability to read and understand the game despite his tender age. All qualities perfectly suited to modern fashions and Postecoglou’s style of football.
His leadership ability has been noted, too, as the captain of England’s Under 17s.
There is of course much work to do if he is to transform this into a career at the top. Centre halves usually mature a little more slowly than forward players. They have a craft to acquire and the Premier League is an unforgiving learning environment.
Managers want a solid defensive base and are reluctant to throw young players into the heart of the defence for 10 minutes at the end of a game, whereas they will be less concerned about sending on a talented young forward.
So, there remains lots to negotiate for a first-year scholar who cannot sign professional terms until he is 17 in March, but Hardy’s rapid progress this season has convinced the coaching staff at Tottenham that he could provide emergency cover while they sent 19-year-old Alfie Dorrington out on loan to Aberdeen to gather experience.
And that he might benefit from being closer to the first team and picking up tips from senior centre halves.
'I want to learn from those players and how they play' said Hardy, in a short interview in the matchday programme in December. 'I like how they’re so calm on the ball but also aggressive with their defending.'
Tottenham under Lange have made a conscious decision to invest in youth. Just look at the ages of players signed this season - 18, 18, 16, 20, 18, 21 and 27-year-old Dominic Solanke. It is one of the reasons the club continue to show patience and resist any urge to sack Postecoglou, whose teamsheet of 20 players at Everton contained eight teenagers in all.
Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, both 18, started. Between them they have made 51 appearances this season with a dozen Premier League starts. Mikey Moore, 17, came on as a substitute in the second half to make his 10th appearance of the season.
It all adds up to a remarkable shift from last season, when Postecoglou entrusted just five minutes - remarkably spread across six appearances - of Premier League action to teenagers, placing Spurs firmly at the bottom of the 20 clubs. This season, by virtue of that cultural shift and of course the injury crisis, Spurs sit second with 1,532 minutes given to those 20 and under.
Postecoglou likes having young minds to mould and has a style that demands fresh legs and open, impressionable minds to embrace it. A club that struggled to bring through young players under the likes of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, who both prefer veterans, now ranks sixth among the 98 teams in Europe's top five leagues for minutes given to teenagers in all competitions this season.
Gray, Bergvall and Moore are the shining stars and would have been involved regardless of the injury crisis which has taken hold on the club, but there are others making their way through too.
Yang Min-hyeok, an 18-year-old winger signed from Gangwon in South Korea, arrived in December and is being integrated. Will Lankshear, a 19-year-old centre forward, has played in the Europa League and Postecoglou has mentioned his desire to see him go out on loan.
Luka Vuskovic, a 17-year-old central defender who will join Spurs from Hajduk Split in the summer, has excelled on loan at Westerlo in Belgium this season. Damola Ajayi, a 19-year-old forward, and Callum Olusesi, a 17-year-old midfielder, were on the bench at Everton.
Hardy is the youngest of them all. His progress has been accelerated but that is because he is held in such high esteem. He is firmly identified as another of the young players who can save Spurs millions in the transfer market in years to come.