EVEN Kim Hellberg has been surprised by how good Myles Peart-Harris has been in the early stages of his time at Middlesbrough.
Boro's summer move for Peart-Harris might have raised some eyebrows given the 23-year-old was a free agent after spending the second half of last season at Oxford United, who got relegated.
But Boro's recruitment officials have long monitored Peart-Harris, who came through the ranks at Chelsea before signing for Brentford, and felt he'd be a good fit in Hellberg's squad.
Peart-Harris' versatility was admired, so too his physique and comfort and confidence on the ball.
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In the same summer that the likes of Will Lankshear, Sebastian Berhalter and Radek Vitek signed, Peart-Harris might not have been the most eye-catching arrival, but he's made an impressive start to life at the Riverside.
Last season for Oxford, Peart-Harris mainly played from the left flank or as a No.10 and he's comfortable in both positions. But in an interview with the Northern Echo after the pre-season friendly against Celtic in the summer, Peart-Harris said his best position is as a "running eight", which, interestingly, is where Thomas Frank always felt he was at his best when he was at Brentford.
"We see him playing as an ‘eight’ in our system and he fits the position profile perfectly for that," said Frank.
"He is a dynamic midfield player, and he drives forward with the ball."
Peart-Harris did exactly that in the friendly at Celtic, but then had a couple of frustrating weeks on the sidelines after picking up a minor injury. That ruled him out of the Carabao Cup tie against Wrexham, but he was back in the squad for Saturday's Championship opener against Lincoln - and made a big impact from the bench.
Peart-Harris was introduced just after the hour mark immediately after Lankshear's leveller and was again used as a midfielder. And he played a starring role as Hellberg's side snatched victory at the death.
Peart-Harris was at the heart of a lot of Boro's good play in the last half an hour, adding drive to the midfield. He staked a strong claim to be in the starting XI at Blackburn on Saturday.
"I think with Myles, I knew he was good, but it's also been a little bit of a surprise to me in terms of how good he is," admitted Hellberg.
"We laughed about that because we picked two players from Oxford that had maybe a different style of playing, to be fair, without judging anything. Will and Myles from Oxford last season, and now they come in here.
"Myles has been in a different role. He was higher up the pitch at Oxford, but I think that's brilliant.
"It's all about trying to find players in different teams that can develop in the way we play, because that's the most important thing.
"It's not what they've done, it's what they can do in this environment, in how we play, and I think Myles is a very good example of that - where he's a very good footballer, how he can move, how strong he is, and he's been very impressive.
"He was a little bit unlucky with the injury that set him back a little bit, but now he's back training again, and it will be interesting to see what level he can reach."
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