Saul Niguez suffered a disappointing start to life at Chelsea having been thrown in the deep end too early, but the Spaniard can plot his redemption with a statement display versus Tottenham.
The 26-year-old midfielder made his Blues debut with a start against Aston Villa but looked out of his depth and was consequently pulled from proceedings.
Meanwhile, Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher had just published the blueprints to beating Tottenham earlier that afternoon with an excellent outing for Patrick Vieira's side as the Eagles picked up their first win of the season.
The Blues loanee was energetic, tenacious and offered quality across all thirds of the field - strangely all buzz words associated with Saul prior to his arrival in west London.
Upon sealing his deadline day season-long loan to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid, Saul alluded to his stagnation at the Spanish side and out-of-character performances in recent years vowing that he would reignite his flame that once burned so prominently.
Speaking on his desire to emulate previous pastures, Saul said: "I needed to refind myself and Chelsea appeared. What I want is to train in my role, to rediscover certain movements and positions."
"That’s the most important part of my decision," he claimed. "The last three years haven’t been easy. I had stagnated and my head didn’t accept it. The idea is to compete, see the Saúl I want to see. The Saúl from the last few years frustrates me too."
Saul continued, claiming that he felt as if he had lost his identity and a move to Chelsea would help him unlock his former self.
“I couldn’t show people what I can do. Not learning, not improving, not growing was frustrating," he said.
"This is a decision to unblock me. By leaving my comfort zone I’m going to make a new Saúl emerge. This is about me being me.”
In light of Saul's uninspiring maiden display for the west Londoners, the Spain international must eye and build upon Gallagher's mouth-watering performance against Spurs, should he be handed the opportunity.
The former Atletico Madrid midfielder has an option to buy in his loan deal with Chelsea valued at around £34 million, meaning the Blues do see a future for the Spaniard at Stamford Bridge.
However, Saul faces stern competition against the likes of returning youngsters Gallagher and Billy Gilmour as well as a host of star-studded names reportedly on Marina Granovskaia's shopping list.
The Blues' number 17 has the remainder of the season to impress, but, time is still of the essence and Saul must be do everything he can to outshine his counterparts who will rival him for a place at Cobham next summer.
He must begin the first steps to a resurgence mission - if given the chance - against Tottenham to one-up Gallagher's stellar display and throw his name back in Thomas Tuchel's hat.
If you were Granovskaia, would you sign Saul at the end of his loan or look for someone else - and who? Let us know the three midfielders you want Chelsea to sign in the comments! Follow our CareFreeChelsea trends writer Jake Stokes on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
