George Earthy

Earthy operates as an attacking midfielder with a knack for finding the right spot, once scoring almost immediately after coming on as a substitute in a way that felt like genuine instinct rather than fortune. He links play between midfield and attack, finding pockets of space that let him take the ball facing forward instead of turning under pressure. That knack for quick impact, even from a cold start on the bench, is a useful trait for any squad.

The tension is that one flash of impact off the bench differs from holding that level across a full season, and academy graduates often stall at that jump. He proved himself at a good level while out on loan, which suggests the talent is real rather than borrowed from weak opposition. Whether he gets a proper run of starts to show that, rather than fleeting cameos, remains to be seen.