Southampton were 2-1 ahead and coasting against Sheffield Wednesday at St Mary's when Flynn Downes had to be withdrawn at half-time. Downes had been recovering from a well-documented illness and had played 81 minutes of an energy-sapping encounter at QPR before the visit of Wednesday.
What happened next surprised everyone in the stadium. Interim Head Coach, Tonda Eckert, chose to bring on a rookie under-21 midfielder for his debut ahead of both Joe Aribo and Kuryu Matsuki. Eckert had placed all his faith in youngster Barnaby Williams to get his team over the line. It was a bloody bold call.
Within a few minutes of the restart, Adam Armstrong latched onto a long through ball from Taylor Harwood-Bellis and finished in style to put the hosts 3-1 ahead and take the pressure off.
Williams, up against one of the league's most experienced players, Barry Bannon, turned in a mature and energetic defensive-midfield performance that completely shut down Wednesday's options through the middle.
Scant reward for a mature performance
The Southampton academy graduate made 3 tackles, 1 interception, and 3 clearances in a brilliant debut. As good as he was without the ball, Williams showed composure on the ball, too. He made 13 passes in 45 minutes and barely gave the ball away.
If anybody expected Williams to be rewarded with an extended run in the first team, they would have been disappointed. The 19-year-old returned to the under-21s and has been involved with the first team match day squad just four times since.
The youngster was an unused substitute for the Championship home games against Millwall and Hull City, and for the FA Cup third-round tie at Doncaster Rovers.
Rather symbolically, Williams replaced Oriol Romeu after 63 minutes of the fourth-round FA Cup tie at home to Leicester City, which the Saints won after extra time despite finishing the match with five academy players on the pitch.
In between first-team involvement, Williams has helped the under-21s to seventh in the PL2 table. The youngsters have two games left to play before they enter the 16-team knockout phase of the competition. Adam Lallana's side will fancy their chances.
A clear indication of Barnaby Williams' future potential
Today's signing of Williams is a clear indication of the young midfielder's potential. And, being a similar style of player to Caspar Jander, it will be the German that Williams has been signed to replace.
Whether that happens sooner or later will depend on whether the Saints gain promotion this season and if Caspar Jander remains at St Mary's for another season. The German has reportedly already spoken out about his homesickness and missing his girlfriend, boxer Carlotta Schünemann.
Whatever happens this season, today's signing is clever business, securing the club's future on the pitch and protecting the asset's value on the books.