Kyle Walker-Peters' long wait for some Premier League action could finally be over at the weekend when Southampton return to action against Burnley.
With limited opportunities under Jose Mourinho at Spurs, the right-back was allowed to depart on loan to get some much-needed minutes under his belt.
Amid interest from Crystal Palace and Southampton in the January transfer window, the 22-year-old headed for the south coast to Ralph Hasenhuttl's in-form side as he looks to get his career back on track.
This is such an important spell for the young player and it's vital that he grasps his opportunity with both hands as he bids to make a name for himself in the Premier League.
Things did look quite promising for the player at the start of the season under Mauricio Pochettino as he named him in his side for the first three league games of the campaign.
However, the injury he picked up in the third game against Newcastle United proved incredibly costly as he has yet to take to the pitch in the top flight since limping off, although his absence has not been strictly down to injury.
Walker-Peters, as expected, was handed a start the following month as Spurs' Carabao Cup campaign started and ended at Colchester United, with his final appearance for the Lilywhites coming in the Champions League dead rubber against Bayern Munich.
Players don't get that many chances to impress Mourinho and his poor showing out in Germany will most definitely have played a part in the head coach's decision to part with him temporarily in January.
The fact of the matter is that Walker-Peters' Tottenham career has never quite got going and it may never do.
Making nine appearances in his debut season for the club, followed by ten in 2018/19, the player always needed a sustained run in the team to show what he could do but he always had Kieran Trippier and Serge Aurier ahead of him.
It appeared that his opportunity would come back in August only for the hamstring injury he picked up against Newcastle to set him back again.
So strong at right-back in the past with Kyle Walker becoming one of the world's best in that position, it is now a weakness for Spurs that Mourinho will no doubt look to fix in the summer.
As well as Aurier has done in an attacking sense this season as he has one goal and seven assists to his name, he is often found wanting defensively and Spurs are going to need to find someone who can do both jobs if they are to challenge for major honours on a consistent basis.
Max Aarons at Norwich City seems to be the obvious choice to come in unless Walker-Peters can somehow change Mourinho's mind between now and May.
Key to that will be playing week in, week out at St Mary's and the right-back has the perfect manager in Hasenhuttl to take his game to the next level after his previous work with the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Danny Ings and Nathan Redmond who have all improved massively over the past 12 months.
The Austrian resisted the temptation of throwing Walker-Peters straight into the Saints team against Liverpool in their previous league fixture, instead deciding to wait until he's fully up to speed with the club's philosophy.
However, it's no secret that the ex-RB Leipzig coach rates the player extremely highly.
"He’s good for Southampton because he’s young, quick and technically good," said Hasenhuttl, as reported by the Southern Daily Echo.
"I think his hard disk is has a lot of space to put something on, so I think he can learn a lot.
"He will come to us and give 100 per cent and the whole package is something we can develop and that is our goal."
Developing Walker-Peters over the next few months is going to be key as he bids to become a Premier League regular.
The right-back has always wanted a long run of regular first-team action and now he has the opportunity he has desperately crazed to show everyone just what he can do.
A loan exit doesn't necessarily mean the player's time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is coming to an end, as Harry Kane is a prime example of that, but something is going to have to give for the full-back sooner rather than later if he is to make a name for himself in N17.
This really is a big few months in the career of Walker-Peters and Spurs will either get back a player who can play consistently in the top flight for the Lilywhites or they may be able to sell him for an even higher fee if a few clubs are fighting it out for his signature after impressing on the south coast.
If it is to be the latter then it would add a bit more money to the head coach's summer transfer kitty as he looks to stamp his mark on the team.
It really is a win-win situation for Mourinho and the club.
