It might not quite have gone to plan for Nottingham Forest youngster Marcus McGuane at Spanish giants Barcelona.
But the promising midfielder still learnt a great deal from his time at the Nou Camp, according to one of his former teammates.
A protracted transfer saga came to an end in February, when McGuane signed for the Reds, initially joining the Under-23s squad.
The 21-year-old had come up through the ranks at Arsenal before moving to Spain in 2018, where he linked up with Barca’s B team.
He struggled to make a real breakthrough, though, and headed to Dutch side Telstar on loan earlier this season, where he was reunited with his former academy coach Andries Jonker and ex-Gunner Charlie Gilmour.
“He's very talented. He's an ideal five-a-side player, always wants the ball, always wants touches,” Gilmour said of McGuane. “I'm more defensive-minded, calm.
“Marcus liked Barcelona. He liked staying there, playing and training with the best players in the world. Just seeing them up close.
“He's not the sort of person who has regrets.
“He worked hard, was focused but sometimes it just doesn't work out.”
Gilmour had joined Telstar on loan from Norwich City, having been released by Arsenal.
He and McGuane have been friends since they joined the Premier League side as kids.
They lived together in Holland and still keep in touch - along with Brentford’s Josh Dasilva - now the latter is back in England.
“I felt a bit down at times. It helped having Marcus here,” Gilmour told The Sun. “We've known each other since we were six, we grew up together.
“He had a good relationship with Andries at Arsenal. I told him good things about the league, about Telstar.
“I didn't see him for a couple of years when he went to Barcelona so it was nice to see him each day.
“With Marcus and Josh, we talk about football all the time, literally. Strictly football. Any football.”
