An hour into FC Barcelona’s match versus their rivals Real Madrid on Saturday, Los Blancos’ rising star Vinicius Junior beamed a shot toward the net but Clement Lenglet was there to block it with his chest. Lenglet had previously made a similar painful block with his chest on Raphael Varane’s shot.

The French defender didn’t only take hits for his team but he also delivered hits for his team. Madrid captain Sergio Ramos elbowed Barca’s superstar Lionel Messi in the face in the 46th minute. Later, in the 63rd minute, Lenglet returned the favor, elbowing Ramos on the back of his head.

To add to his bravery and ferociousness, the 23-year-old is agile, calm, and good on the ball, which makes him the perfect tool Barca’s backline needed with their injury problems.

Despite being FCB’s backup center half behind Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti, Lenglet was unarguably one of the most valuable players in their recent El Clasico victory and in the last five matches he’s played in.

Lenglet has unexpectedly played in 32 games (27 starts, five substitute appearances) for Barcelona this season, mainly due to Umtiti’s injury, who missed 19 games with a knee cartilage problem.

The youngster has certainly proved that he’s a backup central defender who can be counted on, something so many players have failed to do over the years. Columbia star defender Yerry Mina, who joined Barca last year on a promising note, only lasted a season at the Camp Nou.

Goal.com reporter Nizaar Kinsella noted that one of the reasons why Mina was unsuccessful with the Spanish champions was because he couldn’t play at their speed due to his size. The Columbian is 6’5” and 207 pounds.

Thomas Vermalean never truly established himself as a reliable second-string center half for the Catalonian side until this season in his fifth year with the team. Part of it was because of injuries and another part of it was because he was just doing enough as a defender.

Lenglet is the best backup Barcelona center-back we’ve seen in recent years.

One of the La Liga giants’ starting central defender, Pique, is 32 years old, therefore in the next two-three years, Lenglet could become a starter alongside his countryman Umtiti.

But the former Sevilla man has two defenders challenging him for the starting spot: 19-year-old Jean-Clair Todibo, who only played one game in a Blaugrana jersey but the club has a lot of hope in him, considering the fact that he’s on the first team at such a young age, and Matthijs de Ligt, another 19-year-old, who is currently playing for AFC Ajax but will more than likely join Ernesto Valverde’s side this summer. De Ligt is the reigning Golden Boy winner.

Lenglet has a lot to prove to start over those two promising youngsters or even keep his spot of third-choice centre-back but he’s done a great job do far.