Marcus Edwards might easily have wound up on the sizeable scrapheap of football's failed wonderkids.
He was hailed as Tottenham's future and likened to Lionel Messi at 17, then jettisoned at 20 with a reputation for being difficult and only a breezy cameo in a cup tie against Gillingham to his name.
Such a narrative can be difficult to reverse and yet Edwards has rebuilt his career in Portugal, has been sparkling this season in the famous green hoops of Sporting Lisbon and is preparing for a first reunion with Spurs.
'The feeling is a bit strange,' Edwards tells Sportsmail.