Charly Musonda was once the transfer target for almost every major club across Europe with Chelsea beating the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Manchester City to his signature.
Aged just 15, the Blues brought Musonda and his two brothers to Stamford Bridge and the young Belgian looked as if he was starting out on a glittering career in west London.
Nine years on, however, things have not turned out how Musonda wanted as he has seen his Chelsea academy contemporaries Tammy Abraham, Reece James and Mason Mount break into the first team and receive international recognition with England.
Musonda's progress has been hampered through years of injury issues and was even once told he only had a 20% chance of playing again following a posterior cruciate ligament injury.
The Belgian told BBC Sport about the prognosis from the medical experts: "The doctors said: 'If you have a surgery now, you're going to miss another year.
"It's going to be three years of no football so it's going to be impossible for you to come back'," he explains.
"A PCL surgery is not common in football. It's not like an ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] where you have surgery and in six months you can come back.
"They told me the odds of coming back were like 20%. Of coming back and being at the top level, being able to compete and play for a club like Chelsea, it was slim to none.
"It was very difficult."
While Musonda has been seeking to revive his football career his Chelsea academy teammates have all gone onto establish themselves as first-team regulars for the Blues.
Musonda has admitted there are mixed emotions seeing his friends do so well, but his main feeling is pride due to knowing how difficult the journey is from academy to first team.
"I know how hard it is, so I'm really proud of them," he said. "Seeing people you've grown up with doing so well, you can only be happy. Hopefully, I'll be able to one day train and play with them again."
Musonda is still contracted to Chelsea and hopes to one day fulfil the potential that saw him in such great demand as a teenager.
"It's very difficult to have three years without being able to do what you really love," he said. "I would be lying to say that it's been easy, but I've always known that some struggles are worth going through.
"I feel like a fighter now preparing for a boxing match. It would be an incredible comeback - an incredible story. Every day is part of the journey, every day a step closer to coming back. I'm on the right track.
"I do believe that if I put a run together and I come back, I can play for a good 10 years. I'm still 24 - if I come back in the prime of my career, I can put a run together - that's my goal."
