This time 12 months ago, Jadon Sancho was tipped to be one of the Premier League's stars of the season following his £73m move from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United.
It was a move which got United fans off their seats, given Sancho's impressive form in the Bundesliga where he established himself as one of the brightest young talents in world football.
Sancho lit up Old Trafford against Liverpool
For whatever reason, though, his first season at Old Trafford didn't go to plan.
A victim of United's decline and indecisiveness off the pitch, which saw the Red Devils replace boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with interim Ralf Rangnick mid-way through the season, Sancho scored just five goals in 38 appearances in all competitions and lost his place in Gareth Southgate's England squad.
There were, however, flashes of brilliance. He scored a stunning goal against Villarreal in the Champions League and showed former club Man City his obvious talent when he curled a beautiful strike past Ederson in the Manchester derby.
Now, with a new progressive head coach in Erik ten Hag at the helm at Old Trafford, Sancho might have the perfect manager to help him fulfil his potential and build on a great goal against Liverpool on Monday night, and next up is a clash with Southampton on Saturday - live on talkSPORT.
For Sancho, though, it all started out with Watford, where he attended the Harefield Academy as part of his studies up until his move to Man City at the age of 15.
Louis Lancaster was his coach at Watford at the time and recalls a young boy who was obsessed with the game.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, Lancaster said: "He was constantly on his phone and always watching his clips and he would practice hours and hours on skills, like most kids do. At Watford, we would take the kids out of class. So, they were all scattered around and we would take them out of their Maths or English class and we would have a football session in the morning.
Sancho celebrated against Liverpool with great passion
Sancho spooked Van DIjk and scored past Alisson to help Man United to victory over Liverpool
"When school finished, they had to replace the session they had missed, so they would all get together. I used to pop up just to help the teacher and to keep my eye on the children and make sure they were behaving. I remember walking into the computer room once and all the children were on the computers and all I heard was: 'Jadon, will you do your English for the fifth time?'
"So, I look at his screen and he's got YouTube on with Ronaldinho. So, he goes: 'Yes, Miss!' and minimises it. I walked past ten seconds later, check my shoulder and Ronaldinho's back on the screen.
"Jadon is obsessed with football. It doesn't matter if he's on a school playground, on a council pitch or he's at Wembley in front of 80,000 people. He just wants the ball and just wants to have fun."
Daniel Thompson was a school friend of Sancho's and believes playing cage football in South London had a huge impact on his development.
"He played a lot higher than his level," Thompson explains.
Sancho loved watching Ronaldinho and risked the wrath of his teachers to watch him on YouTube
"You could see that he was different. He was very tricky and very skilly and you can see that in his game now. You can see how the ball is practically glued to his feet.
"I knew from when he was younger that he used to play football on concrete, so play in cages. He grew up with Reiss Nelson from Arsenal and a few of the other boys from around there and they're all very skilful players and the ball is glued to their feet and I think that's where it's all come from, playing in the street and having to use your strength and a lot of skill."
One of the main things Thompson fondly remembers, though, is how grounded Sancho was at a young age and the duo remained in touch on Instagram even after his move to Man City in 2015.
"I'm a Manchester City fan and I messaged him saying that I was going up to watch the Manchester City vs Barcelona game [in the Champions League in 2016].
"He was actually playing in the youth team on that day in the afternoon. We couldn't make it [his game] because I had school and we had to run up to Manchester for the evening game. But we were sat only 10-15 seats behind them [the youth team at the Barcelona game in the evening].
It was brave of Sancho to leave City but it's a decision that's certainly paid off
"When I saw him and he was walking up past me, I said his name and he was like: 'Oh my god!' and I think he was more overwhelmed that someone from down in London in his old life had come up. He introduced me to all the Man City youth players, people like Phil Foden and Lukas Nmecha. That was fantastic.
"He was so keen to say hello to my dad because I'd always said my dad has brought us up [to games] and we've always been City fans since I was young. He didn't have to do any of that."
Despite working with one of the greatest coaches in the world at Man City in Pep Guardiola, Sancho wasn't satisfied. After excelling in City's youth teams, Sancho grew frustrated at a lack of game time with the first team and took the bold move of moving to Germany to join Borussia Dortmund.
It was a move which didn't surprise his former coach Lancaster, who feels Sancho has now become a trailblazer for all young footballers in the UK.
"He didn't care what anyone else said. He believed in his own ability," Lancaster continues.
Sancho thrilled for Borussia Dortmund and has inspired others
"What I'm really incredibly proud of him for is that he created his own pathway to the top. Everyone's got their own journey and I get that. He's playing at Man City with one of the best coaches in the world and he's decided to leave because he just wants to play football.
"What he's done is given other young players like Jude Bellingham and Reiss Nelson hope. He's said: 'Look, there's a traditional pathway but you can create your own."
After excelling at Dortmund, one of Sancho's lifelong ambitions finally came true in 2021. "His dream was to play for Manchester United," Sancho's former teacher Sue Pitman recalls from his time at the Harefield Academy and after a year of speculation, a move to Old Trafford was sealed last July.
Despite a tough first season, former coach Lancaster is adamant that Sancho will be a success with the Red Devils and believes the 22-year-old will flourish if given freedom to roam out wide.
Bellingham is one of the brightest young stars around and followed Sancho's lead in moving to Germany
Sancho looks revitalised but still has plenty to prove
"I think he needs to play in the wide areas," Lancaster finished.
"He's a bit of an artist. All he wants is the ball at his feet. He just wants the ball, just wants to dribble and just wants to excite and you can see that in his play and that's all we did. For him, it was about scoring and if he couldn't score, it was about assisting which is about balls into the box and playing the ball forward.
"I think it's important to give him freedom to do whatever he wants but within the rules. Play him out wide and as I said, he'll score and he'll contribute."
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