It takes a lot to break into the Manchester City side. Eric Garcia might just have enough about him.
The 17-year-old central defender started the Carabao Cup tie against Leicester City on Tuesday night. Admittedly, Leicester did not name their strongest team for the game, but alongside Nicolas Otamendi, he barely put a foot wrong at the King Power Stadium.
It should have been little surprise. Garcia was one of the standout stars of City's pre-season — when a number of Pep Guardiola's more senior players were unavailable after the World Cup.
Garcia took the opportunity on the United States leg of the tour with both hands.
He impressed in the games against Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool. He demonstrated his brilliant vision when passing the ball and consistently spread play across the pitch.
After Tuesday's game, Guardiola flagged up those performances and said he had been 'incredible'.
Garcia is a defender in the Guardiola mould. He had the upbringing to match. He came through Barcelona's La Masia academy, joining at the age of seven and captained at every youth level. He then moved to City in summer 2017.
One of the two representatives involved in his move to City was Nou Camp icon Carles Puyol.
Barcelona fans were so angry at Puyol's role in the exit of one of their most promising players that he soon had to quit a promising career as an agent.
Garcia adapted quickly to England. He took the armband for the Under 18s at City and played well for their Elite Development Squad. He also featured in the UEFA Youth League for the Under 19s.
There has been work on his physicality in his 18 months in England, and ensuring Garcia can deal with the rough edges to the domestic game.
That resulted in the opportunity in pre-season.
But, after Garcia's impressive performances this summer, problems struck. 'He had a tough injury and for two months he could not play with us,' his manager revealed.
Guardiola was clearly impressed enough to bring him back into the fold almost immediately. That led to being selected ahead of the likes of Vincent Kompany at Leicester.
After the game, Guardiola heavily praised his new young charge. ‘Eric has a lot of personality,’ he said.
‘He is a guy who has a lot of positional sense. He’s not the strongest one or the fastest but few times do the opponent beat him positionally.
‘He’s able to guide the line. He has good vision, a good pass. I’m very pleased. He didn’t make one mistake. One thing is a friendly and the other is a knockout game. He was incredible.’
It bodes well for a man like Garcia that Guardiola has a habit of bringing defenders through.
Gerard Pique had featured for Manchester United before returning to Barcelona. Yet he was never trusted by Sir Alex Ferguson anywhere near as much as Guardiola backed him.
If he is given a significant run, which will be tough with John Stones and Aymeric Laporte playing so well, Guardiola will almost certainly let him develop.
For now, the youngster is just delighted to have played. 'I still can’t believe it. It was amazing experience and I was really happy,' he said.
'All the squad helped me in the game and beforehand, especially the other central defenders like Nico, John, Vincent and Aymeric.
'I would prefer to win the normal way, but these games are very difficult. You cannot relax for a second because these teams are really good.'
Now comes the even harder work — earning himself a permanent place among the City stars.