Tayo Adaramola made his full Crystal Palace debut against Stoke in the FA Cup fifth round
(Picture: Getty Images)Crystal Palace have developed a knack for producing full-backs and it appears the next cab off the rank is not far away.
Tayo Adaramola made his full debut for Palace against Stoke on Tuesday night as he looks to follow in the footsteps of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Tyrick Mitchell.
Wan-Bissaka set the benchmark during the early days of Roy Hodgson's tenure, but Palace have always had a penchant for players in that position. Lining up in the same back four as Adaramola against Stoke was Nathaniel Clyne, another graduate of the Palace academy who has returned to his first club after success with Southampton and Liverpool.
Adaramola, an 18-year-old who first crossed Copers Cope Road to begin training with Patrick Vieira's senior squad earlier this season, had made an appearance from the bench against Hartlepool in the last round and eyebrows were raised when his name was among those in a strong starting XI against Stoke on Tuesday.
There was confidence from within, however, that he was more than ready. The youngster is so highly rated at Selhurst Park that Palace declined the chance to sign a number of left-backs in January so not to block his progression, despite the need to provide cover and competition for Mitchell.
Reinildo Mandava, who joined Atletico Madrid, was one option proposed to Palace and turned down in favour of Adaramola.
Coaches speak of a player with supreme confidence on the ball with a burning desire to drive forward and make things happen in the final third, much in the mould of the player Mitchell is becoming under Vieira.
There were signs of that attitude during the 65 minutes against Stoke with the Republic of Ireland youth international, who can also represent the Netherlands and Nigeria, looking to move the ball forward whenever possible and link with Wilfried Zaha.
“It was a really good experience for him,” Vieira said. “I think he did some really good stuff. He showed his potential.
“We have to support him and keep working with him. You could see that he was really nervous because he didn’t allow himself to go forward as much as he likes to do. That is part of developing young players as well.
“There is a platform there to develop him. Being there in games like that and in the first-team dressing room will give him that confidence to work as a player.”
While there were the odd moments of nerves, with the positions Adaramola was taking up on the break needing some work, it was a night to remember.
"I'll take it as a first game, steady progress so hopefully I will build on that and get more minutes and more games," said Adaramola, who was beaming as he applauded the supporters at full-time.
"Hopefully I've showed that if I could do it against a Championship club then I could do it against a Premier League club."
It has been a long journey to this point for Adaramola, who moved to London with his mother from Dublin aged 11 to pursue a career as a professional footballer and finally found his home at Palace following trials with West Ham and Charlton.
The full-back settled into a youth system which has been turbocharged by the £50million sale of Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United three years ago, which the club are hoping to start seeing the benefits of in the coming years following significant investment.
There is plenty of work to be done in the months and years ahead if Adaramola is to fulfil his potential, but Selhurst Park has proved fertile ground for full-backs. There are few better places for him to be.
