The 23-year-old midfielder finally proved his worth with a stand-out performance in Wolverhampton Wanderers’ narrow FA Cup defeat.
George Saville may not have inspired Wolves to repeat their Anfield cupset with a stunning triumph over the Premier League champions-in-waiting, but the much-maligned midfielder at least managed to silence his doubters for an afternoon, as reported by the Express and Star.
The 23-year-old has long been the subject of derision from a number of Wolves supporters, becoming something of an insignia for the club’s apparent inability to progress towards the top end of the Championship table.
Yet, in the 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Chelsea on Saturday, Saville perhaps produced his finest performance in the famous gold – against his former club to boot. In fact, he was a post’s width from giving Paul Lambert’s underdogs a first-half lead.
And it seems that stand-out display is enough to convince his boss that Saville should remain a major player in the first-team plans.
“I see [the young players] as part of the squad now – they’ve earned the right and said I can trust them to perform,” Lambert told the Express and Star. “I thought George was excellent against Chelsea.
“He’s a really good guy to have around the place. He’s delivered in big games and that’s why I know I can trust him, as long as he keeps a professional level high and keeps trying to do the right things to the right standards.”
The fact that the reaction to Saville’s exceptional performance against Cesc Fabregas and co was met with polite surprise rather than trusting expectation perhaps says a lot about the midfielder’s performances over the last few months.
However, he’s now set the bar extremely high and the pressure will be on the former Chelsea youngster to prove his display was more than a one-off.
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