Hull City centre-back Harry Maguire has been impressing a lot of people with his performances this season, as he has shown an incredible ability to go on long mazy runs from his defensive position.
English defenders who have skill on the ball are a rarity, and the fuss around John Stones is a testament to that, so Maguire is earning plaudits from the likes of Martin Keown on MOTD, Jamie Carragher in the Daily Mail, and, well, Balls.ie...
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It's hard not to enjoy watching Maguire play. He carries the ball with grace and purpose, and you can visibly see opposition players hesitate as they expect him to give the ball to someone in midfield or attack, but he just keeps on charging, and it's down to the fact that he never played at centre-back until he was 16.
Speaking to Geoff Shreeves of Sky Sports, Harry Maguire looked back on a growth spurt as a teenager that changed how he played the game.
I wasn't the marauding centre-half I am now, I was a lot smaller back then.
I played centre midfield until I shot up and got moved back.
I was a central midfielder until I was 16 but having played a couple of good games at centre-half I've played there ever since. Sometimes I get played in midfield but it's hard to get about these days, given my big frame, so centre-half is my preferred position.
When they've signed me, a lot of managers have asked whether I played in midfield when I was younger. It helps massively being able to bring the ball out from the back.
When you're growing up as a central midfielder you're on the ball a lot more than you would be a centre-half. That is why I like to bring the ball out of the back.
"It's hard to get about these days given my big frame" may be one of the strangest things we've heard from a 23-year-old Premier League footballer, but there's no doubting that Maguire has what it takes to play at the top level, as he's quite a decent defender as well as Sheffield's answer to David Luiz.
Hull have truly turned their form around, and after taking four points from games against Manchester United and Liverpool, after they play Arsenal this weekend they have a much more favourable run of games which will tell us whether or not they can retain their top-flight status under Marco Silva.
You'd have to feel if they can manage it, then Harry Maguire will play a big part.
