Wrexham defender, Max Cleworth has featured more regularly in recent weeks and against Wimbledon stood out for his performance.
It has been a more than ideal start to life back in League Two for Wrexham following their promotion from the National League.
They have risen up the leagues under Phil Parkinson and now sit at the top end of the league in second place, at the time of writing.
This weekend saw them welcome Wimbledon to The Racecourse and take home a hard-fought 2-0 win. Thanks to goals from Steven Fletcher and Paul Mullin, Rob McElhenney could celebrate.
Although the offensive side of the game from players like James McClean was top-class, there was some excellent defensive work.
One man stood out on the day, Max Cleworth who is repaying the faith that Parkinson has given him in recent weeks.
Max Cleworth performance v AFC Wimbledon
At 21-years old, Cleworth is seen as one for the future with Wrexham but he is starting to prove his worth in the here and now.
Against the Dons, he had 71 touches on the ball which was the most of any of his teammates showing his impetus. According to FotMob, he was able to use those touches to make 36 passes with an 80% accuracy overall.
In a defensive sense, he was super alongside Ben Tozer and Tom O’Connor. He attempted the most tackles in the game while also making the joint-most interceptions.
Add to this that he made three clearances and three recoveries, he was defensively superb throughout the 90 minutes.
It must be said that Wimbledon were a force going forward, especially in the first half. This saw them have seven more shots than the Reds including a missed one on one attempt early on. Despite this, they only managed one shot on target.
The defenders that are already missing for Parkinson include Eoghan O’Connell, Jordan Tunnicliffe and Aaron Hayden. It wouldn’t be out of the question for any side to struggle if they were missing that much quality.
Cleworth has stepped up and filled into that centre-back role with ease and showed his quality this weekend. With Tozer alongside him, he is learning from a great role model which will only aid his development.
Hopefully, the youngster can keep this form up and maintain his place in the starting XI even when his defensive colleagues return. Well deserving of this run in the first team, there is no doubt.