Flatterer finds plaything enthralling these days (5)
I believe the answer is:
toady
'flatterer' is the definition.
(toady is a kind of flatterer)
'plaything enthralling these days' is the wordplay.
'plaything' becomes 'toy' ('toy' can be a synonym of 'plaything').
'enthralling' is an insertion indicator.
'these days' becomes 'ad' (as in Anno Domini, after Christ).
'toy' placed around 'ad' is 'TOADY'.
'finds' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for toady that I've seen before include "Creep" , "fawn" , "Obsequious person" , "Person who flatters and behaves obsequiously to another" , "crawler" .)