Stefan Bajic has been forced to wait for his opportunity following his free transfer this summer after recovering from the wrist surgery he underwent towards the end of the last campaign.
However, he was given his first taste of action in a Robins shirt on Tuesday afternoon when he was announced in the starting XI for Bristol City Under-21's resounding 5-0 victory over rivals Cardiff at the High Performance Centre.
There were signs that the young Frenchman was closing in on fitness after he featured heavily in the latest version of the Robins Uncut and a sense of intrigue when his name appeared on the team-sheet before kick-off.
Highly-rated in France having featured in Ligue 1 for St Etienne and represented France at every youth level, there's every opportunity Bajic has been brought in to challenge Dan Bentley to the No1 shirt once he settles into life in England.
A clean sheet in his first appearance and a thrashing of Severnside rivals Cardiff is not a bad place to start and here's a closer look at how he performed as braces from Tommy Backwell and Sam Bell and a long-range effort from Dylan Kadji ensured the young Robins made it six unbeaten at the start of their season.
Shot stopping
There were only two notable chances in the first half that threatened to cause him difficulty. The first came from Ollie Tanner when Cardiff broke forward from midfield in numbers.
Two passes across the box found Tanner out on the left who had a yard of space to get his shot away on the angle. It was straight at Bajic with pace and the keeper made the block before collecting it at the second attempt to give himself an early confidence booster.
The other opportunity came from the other side as a low cross/strike across goal was smothered by the Frenchman.
The second half provided him little to do as Cardiff looked shell-shocked from the quick flurry of goals at the end of the first period. His clean sheet was almost taken from his grasp when James Crole stuck the ball in the net after being played through on goal but the linesman called him offside.
With just a few minutes left on the clock, the opposition tested him from around 25-yards with a low effort heading for the corner, skidding off the rain-soaked turf. Bajic's positioning and concentration were ideal as he got down low to make the save.
Handling
A real test for Bajic was as Cardiff looked to exploit the space left behind the wing-backs and get their crosses away from wide positions. He was called into action in the first 15 minutes when he got his fingertips on a cross from the right to help it out for a corner.
Another cross from the right on 29 minutes was confidently punched clear which alleviated the danger and allowed City to carry the ball up the field. His confidence was certainly growing and when Cardiff launched a diagonal ball forward, he called for it and surged off his line to collect - it was met by applause from the senior players watching on from the main stand.
That trend continued throughout the game - crosses came in and Bajic's belting voice echoed around the HPC before plucking it out of the air. Another positive sign was his commanding presence in the air seemed to give the defenders confidence, and likewise with the backline gave the keeper confidence.
Being vocal
There was certainly a sense of authority about him, especially when it came to crosses. He may still like a newbie to this group but wasn't shy in being vocal and commanding when he needed to be.
Early in the contest, he ordered his backline to step forward when Cardiff played the ball back during an attack before belting out "keeper's" when a delivery came in from the flank. He was always encouraging to his teammates, evident when he applauded Zac Bell's block as Ollie Tanner fired in a strike from the left side.
It was perhaps the most striking part of his game and it became a recurring theme throughout the 90 minutes was how loud he was when he made that ball his. Equally as impressive was his motivation to other teammates to keep them switched on to ensure they wouldn't be breached.
English isn't his first language but as was evident in his first club interview, he has an impressive knowledge of the language and there were no problems communicating with his defence.
Decision-making and distribution
There was one notable incident that really stood out in the opening 45 minutes when a pass across the field from Tanner looked to play through Jack Leahy who bore down on goal. Bajic decided to come off his line to match him in a foot race and the decision was entirely justified as he got to the ball first to get it clear.
Had he hesitated for a second or two, it could have proved costly but the confidence in himself to come out and make the correct call was a really positive sign.
His first kick forward in the contest found a Cardiff head but there was certainly an eagerness to play it short and quickly to his defenders with City keen on building from the back. Although he showed no hesitation in going long when under pressure.
What was said
Coach Ali Hines said: "He was very confident, he came for a couple of really good crosses. Was very calm on the ball and can fit into our style of play really well. Really pleased that he kept a clean sheet too.
"He is (very vocal). He's trained with us a couple of times and he's trained with the first team a lot more. It's good to get him training with us to know the systems."
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