Ben v Bale…coming of age game for young Iron?

I become very excited when I see our academy products breaking onto the big stage and even more so when they prove as adaptable as Ben Johnson.

David Moyes’ judgements on players sometimes look like masterstrokes and – as was the case with Arnautovic and Masuaku – the manager looked to have produced another one in playing Ben down the left.

With Arthur unavailable and the inept Felipe Anderson on loan, we were suddenly without a left-sided midfielder – enter Ben who on Sunday may face a huge coming of age against Gareth Bale.

Remember this lad is essentially a right-back but demonstrated he is entirely comfortable on the left side in what should have been an unaccustomed role against Sheffield United.

Instead, he was excellent and was even man of the match in the books of some fans. It’s easy to see by the way why Jeremy Ngakia moved on – this lad ticks all the boxes.

He and the manager take enormous credit – it was a joy to watch him doing the business against the Blades.

Now comes the biggest test of his career as he looks set to take on Bale in Sunday’s game – it’s a watershed match for the fella if it works out like that.

Bale has been in and out of the Spurs team, making a total of two starts – and came on late in the 1-0  defeat by Brighton.