There is something about the emergence of a young, energetic and exciting talent that gets pulses racing.
Manchester United supporters, more than most, have experienced that thrill on several occasions in recent years with Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, amongst others, bursting onto the scene and refusing to look back.
The same can now be said for Anthony Elanga. A run of three consecutive Premier League starts, plus a late cameo appearance in United's slender 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup earlier this month, has seen the start of a new romance beginning to take hold at Old Trafford.
Although Elanga, who turns 20 in April, had experienced life in the first-team prior to be his recent reintroduction, this is the first meaningful opportunity he has had to show off his talents with United's supporters in situ.
His performance against Villa in the FA Cup, even if it only lasted for five minutes, was enough to grab United's supporters' attention. On a night when United had been under the cosh and looked jaded at the top end of the pitch, Elanga, almost like a firework, brought a sense of excitement to the show in a flash, with his quick bursts of energy and lack of fear on the ball immediately raising the excitement levels in the stands.
That night, which saw United progress thanks to Scott McTominay's first-half header, Elanga stepped off the bench to replace Rashford.
The latter had experienced another difficult night at the office and looked a shadow of the player he so usually is, sparking genuine concerns from pundits and United's supporters, as well as leaving Ralf Rangnick to admit that he could not identify why his form had fallen off the edge of a cliff.
In the two Premier League games that had proceeded the Villa victory - the 3-1 win over Burnley and 1-0 defeat to Wolves - Rashford had been forced to settle for a place on the bench, earning just 15 minutes worth of game time, suggesting that Rangnick was already aware of his faltering form and taking steps to spark a reaction by not rewarding him with opportunities.
Rangnick was right to keep Rashford on the bench against Brentford, not least because he had missed the 2-2 draw with Villa four days earlier with a dead leg, but because Elanga, in his place, had performed so well at Villa Park, again providing energy, unpredictability and a freshness to United's attacking play.
It would have been contradictory of Rangnick's approach to replace Elanga with Rashford when the latter's form had been so uninspiring.
However, Elanga's recent performances appear to have given both Rangnick and United what they were in need of, in terms of Rashford raising his game and showing signs of life again.
He stepped off the bench against Brentford to score the Reds' third goal, firing a smart finish into the roof of the net, before being United's hero when they needed one most against West Ham, scoring from close quarters to seal what could prove to be an invaluable three points come the end of the season.
Whilst it is important to not get too carried away off the back of just two goals, it is impossible to ignore that Rashford has reacted positively to Rangnick's decision to promote Elanga, for now, to his first choice left-winger and leave the England ace to work hard and deliver the goods to justify winning his place back.
United, under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, had got themselves into a habit during the latter stages of the Norwegian's tenure where under-performing players, no matter how poorly they were performing, were guaranteed starters, such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes and Rashford.
Rangnick has already proven that won't happen under him.
But whilst Rashford will have, understandably, been frustrated to have lost his place in the side to a 19-year-old prodigy, he will have understood that Rangnick made the call for the greater good, both for the team and in an attempt to spark his form back into life.
It remains early days, but the indications suggest that Rangnick's approach for demanding the best and rewarding players accordingly has the potential to pay off.
Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.
