Cattermole joined for a fee of £3.5m in the summer and has flourished. He formed a formidable partnership alongside Wilson Palacios and seems to be one of the first names on the team sheet with a number of high quality performances.
Returning to his former club at the weekend, Cattermole received a hot reception though this did not seem to faze him and he gave another top display. Cattermole was involved with an incident with Didier Digard who was forced off through injury but Cattermole made a great challenge and both sides have acknowledged that sometimes this happens in football.
Steve Bruce has taken a real shine to Cattermole and has even rewarded him with the captains armband in the away game to Newcastle earlier in the season. Bruce now believes Cattermole has the potential to go all the way to the top.
Bruce told Sky Sports "The booing was a back-handed compliment for Lee.
"Nobody wants to see anyone get injured but it was a perfectly fair challenge on Digard - he's a tough man, that's why I bought him.
"I like everything about him, and the way he plays epitomises the team.
"He never gives in, he tough, resilient and he a good footballer too. He drives other players on - everybody wants a player like that whether they are Manchester United, Chelsea, anyone.
"He is only 20 and has a big future ahead of him, I would never modify his style, I bought him because of it.
"I love him to bits, he's got the kind of desire shown by Bryan Robson and Paul Ince. Whether technically he can match them, because they were really good footballers too, we'll have to see but he's got time."
The draw away at Middlesbrough consolidates the clubs position in 7th place in the Premier League and with Chelsea away this Saturday, the game against West Ham a week on Wednesday will be a real test to prove the squads worthy of fighting for a UEFA Europa League spot. The Chelsea game will be extremely tough but as we proved last season, anything is possible!
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