James Maddison was delighted to see Luca Williams-Barnett smiling ear to ear like a Cheshire cat when Roberto De Zerbi gave him the nod against Crystal Palace
James Maddison has led the Tottenham Hotspur squad in congratulating Luca Williams-Barnett on making his Premier League debut. The 18-year-old winger made a great impression when he was brought off the bench in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday night, and he should've marked the occasion with an assist.
Shortly after replacing Mathys Tel, Williams-Barnett lifted the home faithful from their seats, creating a great chance for Mohammed Kudus to put the third and final nail in the visitors' coffin. The Lilywhites wonderkid glided past Anan Khalaili before darting away from Darío Osorio.
He then beat Chris Richards to the byline and zipped the ball across the goalmouth. Unfortunately for Williams-Barnett, though, his teammate missed the target from close range, denying him an assist on his Premier League debut.
After the game, the England Under-19 international marked the occasion with a celebratory post on Instagram, which eclipsed 180,000 likes by Monday morning. Captioning a picture of himself stepping onto the pitch, he wrote: "Only the start…"
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Hundreds of supporters flooded the comment section with messages of support, and, showing his true colours, Maddison led the Tottenham squad in congratulating Williams-Barnett. The Lilywhites midfielder, whose words garnered more likes than any other, wrote: "Sky's the limit, son [white heart emoji] starts now [handshake emoji."
Sandro Tonali, Lucas Bergvall, Xavi Simons, and Micky van de Ven, as well as many of his academy colleagues, followed suit. Even Fabrizio Romano wiggled his way into the comment section of the teenager's post, posting a star emoji.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Roberto De Zerbi heaped praise on Williams-Barnett. De Zerbi said: "Yeah, but my career is clear. When I work, when I have young, talented players, for me nothing changes. I thought it was the right moment for him. Because it is his first game in the Premier League.
"But his qualities, he is a big, big talent," added the Italian. "Yes [he was bright]. He is a very, very great talent. Very young, but a great talent."
Then, speaking to Jay Harris of The Athletic, Antonin Kinsky also showered Williams-Barnett with praise. The Spurs goalkeeper said: "He has the quality, personality and all the potential to become a great player.
"I was happy for him. It is a huge motivation to get the minutes here. He had the crowd cheering for him. I hope that he is going to work well as he did until today. He has a great future in front of him."
In July, following a pre-season friendly win over Sydney, De Zerbi first explained his plan to get the best out of Williams-Barnett. He said: "We have to manage him like a precious diamond.
"We have to help him to improve in the last decision. Physically, work harder to become stronger because this time of football, he needs to be strong, and to give him space when there is the right moment.
"I usually give time to all the young players I work with in my career, and he is a potential special player..."