Dundee fans caught a first glimpse of January signing Imari Samuels in over two months at Easter Road last weekend.
Game time has been limited for the youngster since he made the switch from the south coast of England to the east coast of Scotland.
Samuels was a half-time substitute for the injured Ziyad Larkeche at Hibs, his first appearance since a 19 minute spell in a Scottish Cup win over Airdrieonians.
He has started once for his new club before being hooked at half-time against Hearts at the start of February.
That came after making his debut for the club late on in a 1-0 derby win over Dundee United, helping the side to a clean sheet.
But that has been it for Samuels in the Dundee team.
So what is going on with the young left-back signed from Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion?
Inexperience
England U/20 international Samuels arrived from the Amex for an undisclosed fee until 2027 with Dundee sorely in need of cover at left wing-back.
He had very little first-team experience behind him, however. Playing just once for the Seagulls first team and four times out on loan for Charlie Adam’s Fleetwood Town.
He’d played more for England youth teams than in senior matches.
Larkeche would face another few weeks out while Fin Robertson had been covering in the unfamiliar position to differing levels, Ethan Ingram too despite being right-sided.
Samuels would make his first start against Hearts but it lasted just 45 minutes with the Dee trailing 2-0.
That match, however, would end 6-0 at Dens Park and kicked off an alarming downturn in form.
Not an environment to thrust a very inexperienced defender into.
“Imari is developing all the time,” Dundee manager Tony Docherty told Courier Sport.
“He’s not been exposed to a lot of football at all.
“When we identified him we’d seen a player there that had real, real qualities in terms of his attacking play.
“Some things needed work on, improvement and development, but I’m seeing real development with him.
“He’s a player that we’re looking long-term with.
“But he’s in strong competition with Ziyad Larkeche, the two of them are battling out.
“I only think you get any kind of success in a pitch when there’s a healthy level of competition, and that’s an example of it, him and Ziyad are battling out that left-back spot.
“But he’s doing really well. I’m really pleased with his progress.”
‘We’ve been careful with him’
In Sunday’s Premiership defeat at Hibs, Docherty could have gone with a more experienced man.
Ethan Ingram did well on the left against Celtic earlier in the season and has played more first-team matches than Samuels.
Fin Robertson could have been moved out of central midfield with the likes of Cesar Garza on the bench.
However, the Dens boss decided it was time to give Samuels a chance.
Nervy at times but in others showing flashes of attacking ability that had enticed Dundee to make their move, it was a mixed outing for the youngster.
Docherty, though, is backing Samuels to grow into his team in the future.
“We’ve been careful with him but I say to all the players to affect what you can affect,” the Dens boss added.
“Whether that be in training, whether it be minutes coming off the bench, go and make an impact, and he’s doing that.
“All the staff and players have commented on how well he’s doing, and that keeps Ziyad on his toes as well.
“He knows he’s got real competition coming behind him.
“But I’m really pleased with him and I expect to see more development from him.
“As I say, he’s one for the future, and if he continues developing the way he is, he’ll be a good, good player for Dundee Football Club.”
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