Why Crawley Town boss changed his original loan plan for Irish youngster who impressed against Tranmere and MK Dons

The 21-year-old came on at half-time to make his debut in the 2-0 defeat at Tranmere Rovers last Saturday before playing the full 90 in the 0-0 draw at MK Dons on Tuesday night.

The former Shamrock Rovers and Bray Wanderers midfielder has been called upon despite Lindsey initially suggesting he would be “for the future”.

The Reds’ boss said: “I think the idea was that we had good numbers in the middle of the pitch and Justin was like a filling piece. To not be disrespectful to him, he was.

“But obviously knowing his age and knowing what he's capable of, we felt that he's a real asset to the football club. We had Max Anderson fit at the time [and] we had Louie Copley fit at the time. We had players who potentially could play next to Jay [Williams] in there, fit and available.

“Of course, now Copley's not fit and available - neither is Max Anderson. The door opens and, of course [Geraldo] Bajrami can play in there, but then [Theo] Vassell becomes injured - you need Baj in the back-line.”

Since the injuries to Anderson and Copley, Ferizaj has put in assured displays in the centre of midfield, impressing his manager in the process.

“That shirt becomes available - go on then son, take it, and he has,” Lindsey said. “I thought he's been arguably our best player. I've really enjoyed him. His first start in [English] professional football, MK Dons away - I thought he's not far off one of the best players on the pitch.

“If you get to know the kid, he backs himself which is probably why I never did send him out on loan, which was the original plan.

“But then he knocked on my door and said: ‘No, no, I don't want to go out on loan. Trust me, keep me here, I'm going to get in your team.’ And I absolutely loved that about him. I love that attitude.”

The Irishman is likely to play a prominent role in Crawley’s next League Two outing when they welcome Chesterfield to the Broadfield Stadium on Saturday.