Sheffield United's Kacper Lopata - one of the rising stars who could face Derby County, by the man who gave him his first big break

But it was during a weekly training ground ritual when Jude Macdonald, the manager responsible for giving him his first proper break, realised the teenage centre-half possessed the cunning required to reach the highest level too.

“The boys used to pass a scratchcard around the dressing room, one of those where you had to guess which team was underneath the bit you rubbed-off at the top, and everyone put a pound in a tin,” Macdonald says, still laughing at the memory of what happened when Lopata’s scheming was discovered, “Kacper had called it right about four times in a row and they all thought he was just lucky. But then someone realised he’d found out that, if you held it up to the light, you could see what was printed behind the coating. When he got twigged, he got banned from taking part in any more of those.”

Tomorrow, when Sheffield United meet Derby County in the Carabao Cup, Lopata’s name is expected to feature prominently on the team sheet following his commanding performance in the previous round. Selected by Slavisa Jokanovic for the first round clash with Carlise, the 19-year-old repaid the faith shown in him by producing a display so mature and accomplished it was easy to forget he was making his senior debut. Brave in the tackle and strong in the air, as you would expect of someone who stands six feet four inches tall, Lopata also demonstrated panache as well as power by peppering the visitors’ defence with an array of perfectly executed passes. It revealed he not only has imagination, but also the technique required to put his ideas into practice.

If some people were surprised by Lopata’s impact, Macdonald wasn’t among them. Now head of recruitment at Eastbourne Borough, a role he combines with his job as a lecturer at a colleague in Sussex, Macdonald was the youngster’s manager at Whitehawk when, after entering Brighton and Hove Albion’s academy programme, he joined their non-league neighbours on loan two years ago.

“My best mate actually tipped me off about Kacper,” Macdonald continues, taking up the story of how Lopata came to arrive at the TerraPura Ground. “He works in education with some of the players coming through. He knew I wanted a defender and thought, for some reason, the people at Brighton didn’t really seem to fancy him.

“I wanted to go to them with a name. I didn’t just want to say ‘Have you got a centre-half we can borrow?’ So I asked about Kacper and, I’ve got to say, the people there were brilliant. They agreed we could have a chat and then it was between the two of us.”

Born in Krakow, Poland, Lopata actually started his footballing journey with Bristol City before heading to the south coast. Macdonald feared his potential next port of call might not prove to appealing for someone used to enjoying the best of the best in a top-flight academy, But, when they met to discuss the possibility of arranging a loan, Lopata turned out to be surprisingly amenable to the idea.

“The pitch at Whitehawk, it had about a 12 foot slope on it at the time,” remembers Macdonald. “Kacper came down with a coach from Albion to take a look and have a chat. I was trying to persuade him, saying ‘It’s not that bad,’ He must have thought ‘Who is this clown trying to kid?’ But later that night he rang me up to sign.”

Lopata went on to make 15 appearances for the Isthmian League side, scoring three goals before joining Zaglebie Sosnowiec midway through the 2019/20 Polish Second Division campaign.

“You always wonder about academy lads coming into non-league,” Macdonald continues, “But he had a terrific attitude. He never once wore his Brighton and Hove Albion gear to training. It was only Whitehawk stuff. He showed he wasn’t a ‘wash bag’ footballer who thought he was better than everyone else.

“We had this little custom where the players would shake hands with fans at the end of a game, and they were always telling him they loved him. He was brilliant for us and, when he went over to Poland, I don’t mind admitting I was gutted when it happened.”

Lopata might have been willing to muck in, but he wasn’t a soft touch as Macdonald describes.

“Kacper was out there with John Paul Kissock, a real old school, experienced player. They were always at loggerheads, albeit in a good way, during games. Kacper gave as good as he got but he was never precocious.”

It was that humble yet hard-nosed attitude which persuaded Jokanovic’s predecessor Chris Wilder to swoop for Lopata when he was released by Albion. Having offered him an opportunity at senior level, the Serb, who also utilised the youngster during pre-season, seems equally enamored.

“I feared for Kacper a little bit when Chris went, because I knew Kacper had been brought in to play in a ‘three’ at the back,” Macdonald, who was asked by United to provide a reference on him, says. “But he can be in a ‘two’ or a ‘four’ if you like because that’s what he did for us - and did it brilliantly.”

After learning of Lopata’s involvement against Carlise by accident, Macdonald will be keeping a close eye on the team news from Bramall Lane ahead of County’s visit in case he gets the nod again.

“I was driving in my car, had Talksport on the radio, and was listening to the first round tie round-ups,” Macdonald explains. “Then I heard the commentator talking about Kacper. He mispronounced his name but I knew it was him and I was so pleased. He’s the type of person you want to see do well and he’s definitely for the ability.”