Few young talents in Premier League history have ever been touted to topple Alan Shearer's goal record by the man himself, but few have ever possessed the finishing ability of Manchester United's Mason Greenwood.
Before he had made waves in the United senior side, he was left with a decision to make that most players aren't posed with at the peak of their powers - let alone at the age of 17 as a youth talent.
While he was firing in goals at an astonishing rate in Man Utd's Premier League 2 side, it was unsurprising that other clubs began taking note, whether EFL clubs looking for a potential loan or members of Europe's elite, hoping to prise away one of English football's most talented young stars.
Serie A titans Juventus were the first to register an interest in the striker, making a mega-money push at a time when he was still on £800-a-week and his contract situation made a move to Turin a possibility.
However, Greenwood rejected a lucrative, life-changing deal from the Italian giants in favour of forcing his way into the first-team fold at United.
On that front he never wavered, a clear indicator of Greenwood's fierce loyalty to the club he grew up supporting and the kind of mentality that will continue to endear him to the club's fanbase.
Backing his talent to make an impact at Old Trafford with the senior side, he made his breakthrough and held out for a new offer from the hierarchy.
That swiftly followed, with Greenwood penning a deal worth £25,000 per-week at the end of 2019, before trebling his money in February of this year with an extension that pockets him £75,000 per-week. Given how important he is becoming for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, don't be surprised if another pay rise is forthcoming before too long.
But to get to where Greenwood now stands, it is worth returning to the start, and the beginning of the 2019-20 season.
That campaign would mark the beginning of Greenwood's rise from promising prospect to first-team regular, making history and breaking records throughout.
He became the club's youngest ever goalscorer in European competition at the age of 17 years, 353 days after his strike in the Europa League against Kazakh outfit Astana.
As expected, Premier League goals swiftly followed - strikes against Sheffield United, Everton and Norwich showing he could more than cut it at the highest level.
As 17 turned to 18 and 18 became 19, he quickly amassed rave reviews and comparisons to some of United's brightest stars of previous years. Given his left foot and eye for goal, Robin van Persie was a name often mentioned in comparison.
Greenwood was flattered, explaining: "It’s nice if people think I play like him and shoot like him a little bit. For an all-time great like him, it’s nice to have that little thing that people say."
His debut campaign saw records fall at every turn, as Greenwood became the first player since Michael Owen in 1997-98 to score 10+ goals in a Premier League season aged 18 or under, as well as the first player born in the 2000s to score for the club.
From across the blue half of Manchester, City starlet Phil Foden claimed: "Greenwood is the best I've seen finishing wise, just both-footed, in and around the box he's always going to score."
When asked how Greenwood compares to Foden's former City teammate Sergio Aguero, he revealed: "High up, finishing-wise, for his age he is unbelievable. I don't know how he does it to be honest, it's just [always] the right type of shot.
"He knows when to finesse or lace it, he shoots quick - the keeper is never stable."
Fast forward through 2020-21, where the teenager experienced a dip and suffered from inconsistency, before ending the campaign in fine form back among the goals, and the beginning of this season saw Greenwood being likened to yet another United legend.
Following his display against Leeds United on the opening day, Rio Ferdinand claimed Greenwood is now showing similarities to club's record goalscorer, Wayne Rooney.
"Wayne Rooney, when he came into the first team, was physically ready, he was a man already. You can see Mason Greenwood is growing into that frame. He just knows how to score goals at any level", he told his FIVE Youtube channel.
Rarely does a pre or post-match presser pass United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer by without some form of Greenwood praise.
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Solskjaer credited the young forward for his work ethic and attitude in bouncing back from the injury that kept him out of Euro 2020 and has continued to eulogise over Greenwood's development during an impressive beginning to the new campaign - which saw him score three times in United's opening three Premier League matches.
"The boy has had problems, he’s had injury issues, he’s done really well to get through them," said Solskjaer. "He’s worked really hard to get fit, and of course I can see the benefit of his work in the summer.
"Mason would have wanted nothing more than to be playing at the Euros of course but that’s simply because he loves playing football, he loves playing for his country, and of course he loves playing for Manchester United."
Already this term he has featured in eight of United's nine games, starting seven. He is expected to start again this weekend, against Everton, despite having been left out of the upcoming England squad purely to protect against overplaying and potential injury, with Gareth Southgate making clear that he will have a big future with the Three Lions.
Now, Greenwood says goodbye to his teenage years proudly boasting the record of United's highest teenage goalscorer in Premier League history.
Comparisons to the likes of Van Persie, Rooney, Aguero and others will undoubtedly continue, but Greenwood is fast turning into his own man.
