When his name landed on the teamsheet, it might well have raised a few eyebrows.
However, in the wake of another derby defeat, and on a day of very, very few positives, Tom Sang's name was greeted with glowing reviews by an otherwise bitterly disappointed Cardiff City fanbase.
The former Manchester United youngster was once touted as one of the most promising talents to emerge through the ranks in the capital, but there's a feeling he's perhaps lost his way a little, recently.
Sunday's showing at the Swansea.com wasn't flawless by any means, but it was a timely reminder of just why he was once rated so highly.
The 23-year-old was tireless on the right-hand side, and stood up reasonably well against a Swansea side that dominated possession against Cardiff's ten men. In fairness, were it not for a tremendous save from Swans keeper Steven Benda, he might well have left with a memorable derby day goal - the German doing brilliantly to tip his crashing volley over the crossbar.
Sang, who interestingly was one of only three players involved on Sunday to play in Cardiff's last derby win, was one of only a handful to leave with their heads held high. The hope, from his point of view, will be that this provides the platform to finally give lift-off to his career in the capital.
It certainly made a bit of a mockery of assessments made by Mark Hudson's predecessor, who was adamant that the youngster was more suited to a central midfielder role.
"I’ve had the conversation with Tom, I personally don’t see him as a wing back," Steve Morison said. "I see him as a midfield option.
"That’s where he has got to fight for his place along with the other midfielders. That’s my opinion.
"At the minute, my opinion is that I didn’t see him as direct competition for Perry, Joel or Ryan Giles when he was here.
"So, he is in the mix with the other five or six centre midfielders. It’s a tough place to be because there’s a lot of good players there."
There's every chance Sang might well have the technical tools to flourish in that midfield position, but it's something of a crowded field. Indeed, with the likes of Ryan Wintle, Joe Ralls and Andy Rinomhota nailing down places in the middle of the park, it's difficult to see where Sang would fit in.
In contrast, the options at right-wing back don't seem nearly as deep. Mahlon Romeo remains sidelined with an ankle injury, while the decision to leave him on the bench on Sunday suggests there are still doubts over Vontae-Campbell.
It's always difficult to make any definitive judgements on the back of one game, and we can't overlook his rusty cameo against Queens Park Rangers in a similar position.
But Sang's comfort out wide on Sunday was widely noticed and celebrated by Cardiff fans on the day - although it clearly won't have come to any surprise to former boss Mick McCarthy.
The Yorkshireman deserved criticism for his almost unhinged obsession with loading his team with centre-backs, but clearly had a decent eye for deciding when a young talent was ready to cope with the heat of the Championship.
Speaking shortly after Sang put pen-to-paper on a new deal, McCarthy gave a ringing endorsement.
“When I came here - I just saw something in him," he said. "He’s a really good guy, a good character, a hard worker, a good footballer and a positive guy on the pitch.
“When I’ve asked him to play at right wing-back because of Perry’s injury, he’s been brilliant. He really has been outstanding."
McCarthy failed to create much in the way of a legacy at Cardiff, although his work in keeping them in the second tier shouldn't be overlooked or played down.
But while his record in terms of results left much to be desired, McCarthy clearly had an eye for young talent.
Joel Bagan and Isaak Davies both enjoyed substantial progress under his reign, while the Yorkshireman clearly had a central role in setting setting Rubin Colwill off on his meteoric rise from unknown youngster to Wales international.
With all that in mind, perhaps it's time we take his endorsement of Sang just a little more seriously too.
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