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Oscar Bobb is having the season he was on course for last term as the winger continues to impress for Manchester City.
On a day when he recorded a record-breaking 250th Premier League win, saw Erling Haaland continue his own eye-watering goalscoring form and watched Rodri limp off with a new injury setback, Pep Guardiola probably wasn't expecting a question about Oscar Bobb after watching Manchester City beat Brentford.
In fact, Guardiola had to ask his inquisitor for confirmation of who he was asking about before going on to give a revealing answer on the young Norwegian's development this season, which hinted at a rapidly changing status in the City squad.
This is arguably the campaign Bobb would have expected to have last year, having starred in pre-season only for a leg break on the eve of the Premier League kick-off to wreck his season.
Aborted attempts to return last year and a quiet summer left plenty of questions about the 22-year-old heading into this term, and he was linked with a move away during the first few weeks of August.
So it was something of a surprise when he was named in the starting XI to face Wolves on the opening day, but he has barely looked back since then, and at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday, he delivered another eye-catching display.
Bobb created the most chances of anyone in the game (three) and completed four of his five dribbles, regularly getting the better of Brentford's defence down their left-hand side. On one occasion, a successful dribble to the byline saw him pick a clever pass back to Phil Foden, who should have hit the target with his first-time shot.
As he praised Bobb's performance and his season so far, Guardiola waxed lyrical about the work rate he puts in defensively but also revealed that the young winger was taking on board advice to become more decisive in the final third.
"Really good. Oscar played really good the first two or three games. Defensively, he’s a machine, he helps us a lot, he’s so smart," said the City boss.
"In the final third, one against one, he’s top, he’s played really, really good. I’m really pleased for the game he played. We encouraged him to be more incisive in the final third.
"When he goes, he really goes, creates big situations, makes an incredible pass to Phil, when you find Phil on the penalty spot for me, it’s a shot on target, it’s a clear chance.
"It was really well played in the first half. Offensively, defensively, in all aspects. He’s a player we trust a lot."
He is trusted so much that he started ahead of Jeremy Doku in West London and Guardiola has some difficult selection calls to make on the wings.
Doku is in the best form of his City career to date, and Savinho has just signed a new long-term contract after interest from Tottenham was turned down in the summer. The Belgian and the Brazilian were the first-choice wingers during the Club World Cup.
But Foden's renaissance means Bernardo Silva is often used on the right, while Bobb's form and what he offers off the ball as well as on it make him a popular pick.
The good news for City is that there are enough games to go around and that everyone will get plenty of minutes. After starting the first three games of the season, Bobb has started just two between the September and October international breaks, but Guardiola's praise for his display at Brentford suggests there will be more to come when domestic action resumes in two weeks.
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