Acton United and the promise of number 22

Long read

He operates in the attacking midfield role, a position that requires both technical mastery and the sort of tactical awareness usually reserved for grandmasters. He has it, allegedly. The early signs are promising, or at least quietly optimistic. He found the net in the 17th minute against Beeston on 27 July, and he provided the ammunition for goals against Crookes on 28 July and Llandaff on 31 July.

It is the sort of start that gets the scouts humming. He is one for the future, provided he doesn't get bored.

However, the transition from youth potential to league mainstay is rarely a clean process. Yates-Salt has already collected three yellow cards this season. He was booked against Aigburth on 5 August, following a similar excursion to the referee's book against Wednesbury on 3 August. There is something almost poetic about a player of such creative excellence spending his early afternoons explaining himself to an official. It keeps the feet on the ground.

For now, he is a high-quality player by league standards, carrying the weight of the number 22 shirt and the expectations of a fanbase that forgets a bad game in ten minutes but remembers a great one for a decade. The only problem is that the future usually arrives on the next matchday.