It's not very often Bristol City are able to reassure supporters they have fended off the interest of Arsenal to hang on to one of their most exciting prospects.
'Plummer's not a Gunner' was the headline back in 2006 when young forward Tristan Plummer had Premier League and England scouts flocking to watch him in action after there were rumours on the grapevine that the Robins had a superstar among their ranks.
In one FA Youth Cup game, at the age of around 15 and up against players two or three years his senior, Tristan remembers how the club hid him away from Chelsea scouts after the match because he had just torn the opposition defence to shreds - a familiar sight during his time in the academy.
"I made my Under-18s debut at the age of 14 or 15 against Aston Villa," The now-32-year-old told Bristol Live in an exclusive interview. "I remember that because we would always lose to them and I was thinking 'Jeez, I'm playing against men, here.'
"A couple of weeks later I made my FA Youth Cup debut, after they didn't make me go out straight after the game because there were a few Chelsea scouts watching the game. I ended up doing well in that game and the scouts started coming along and a few England scouts were there too."
Before the sponsorship deals, headlines and Euro finals against Spain's David De Gea, there was one scout in particular who made the biggest impact on his early footballing career while he was playing for local side St Nicks - following his release from Bristol Rovers.
After impressing at a summer tournament, City scout Roger Barton - who spotted the likes of Leroy Lita - was so taken aback by what he had seen, he offered Tristan the papers to become a young Robin immediately.
"He said 'I've been watching you play for the last couple of weeks we want you to come up to Bristol City and here's the contract, let's get started'", Tristan, who went to Filton High School, added.
"I'm over the moon, I'm buzzing. We were training at Abbots Leigh, and Roger said he would pick me up on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That happened so quickly. I would have been 12 when I first started playing for City and everything then happened so fast.
"Roger was like a second father, he did more than enough, I can't explain how much he did for me. It was good City did transport for inner-city kids to help them get to training."
Two years after being spotted, Tristan had already been promoted to the U17s where the likes of Jennison Myrie-Williams would put his arm around him to help encourage Tristan to help fulfil his potential.
A path into the first-team had been devised and the dream to represent his boyhood club was becoming a reality a year into Gary Johnson's tenure as manager.
Johnson was so confident in his ability, he sat Tristan down in front of his fellow scholars, pointed at him and said "this guy will play in the first-team before he's 17 or 18."
Tristan, who was raised in St Paul's in Easton, recalled: "I was thinking 'wow, this is going to happen'. But there were a lot of promises that didn't get kept but it's football and you can't promise anybody, anything.
"That was my ambition to play for Bristol City and I always wanted to like come out at Ashton Gate and be in front of the fans and have my family come out and watch me because I'm a Bristol boy.
"I was always homesick when I went away with football so I always wanted to be a legend in the city as every kid wanted. I loved playing for Bristol City and just wanted to do my best so it does kind of upset me in a way. Obviously, things happen for a reason that I didn't fulfil my potential but it happens. I don't cry over spilled milk."
Football is a game of fine margins and the 2006/07 season proved to be one that could have made all the difference to Tristan's career both with the Robins and with two Premier League clubs in particular.
On the pitch, Johnson's side were flying having secured promotion from League One with a 3-1 victory over Rotherham on the final day of the season.
Tristan was also continuing to live up to his potential, having earned a call-up to the England U17 squad for their European Championship tournament where he started on the substitute bench in the final as the Three Lions lost to De Gea's Spain thanks to Barcelona wonderkid Bojan's strike.
A quick browse through the YouTube archives will prove the talent City had at their disposal. In a handful of old, grainy footage, one clip shows Tristan collect the ball in his own half with his back to goal, beat two men for pace, cut back on his right foot and find the bottom corner.
This was in 2006 and a solitary comment left underneath the video simply said: "Come on Arsenal. Let's sign him!"
Ahead of Tristan's 17th birthday at the beginning of 2007, the club had laid out plans to sign him to his first professional contract in front of the supporters - but interest from The Gunners and Everton and understandably gave Tristan second thoughts about what footballing decisions to take next.
Tristan remembers: "The owner came down and he didn't come down for anybody, that's Steve Lansdown. He came down to the training ground and talked to me asking me why is it that I didn't sign on my birthday and I was like 'wow, this owner is a massive guy and he's waiting for me after training just to talk to me.'
"He was always polite and respectful but as a 17-year-old growing up from where I was from and having to make those decisions, it was pretty difficult. I could have gone to two Premier League teams, Everton and Arsenal were interested in me.
"One of the old Everton coaches, Tony Fawthrop was Bristol City's academy director so he knew about me.
"I remember being in my house and someone was running across with a newspaper and they were like 'you're in the newspaper!' I was like what? 'Plummer wanted by Arsenal' and that - I was like wow.
"The club said Arsenal were talking about you but City shut that down straight away. The selling price was ridiculous saying they wanted a million or two million for me at the age of 17 but all they only would have had to pay was the compensation because I hadn't signed the contract.
"That scared me a bit because I thought if I see out my scholarship and then I can't get it agreed, then I don't have a club."
The Gunners would end up agreeing a deal to sign a young Theo Walcott from Southampton in 2006 for an initial £5million - a player in the similar ilk of Tristan. Just a few months later, Walcott was announced in England's World Cup squad by Sven Goran Eriksson. Fine margins indeed.
"Bristol City then came back with a better offer and deal. When I signed my pro deal it went out the window then because then you've got a price tag," he continued.
"I wasn't going to sign so I did hold out until the end of the season because I was thinking about moving. I think that made the relationship... it tarnished it a little bit.
"Guidance was a massive thing. I signed up with a big agency at the time SFX and they had big clients. I was a small fish in a big pond, maybe I should have signed with a smaller company. I had a guy looking after me before my England call-up and he was doing everything for me and I kind of just dismissed him for a big company."
Johnson's City were continuing to pull up trees in the Championship having gone all the way to the play-off final at the first time of asking. The manager had his selection of trustee lieutenants and the additions of Lee Trundle and Darren Byfield meant opportunities fell by the wayside for Tristan.
Loan moves to Luton, Torquay, Hereford and Gillingham would follow but Tristan's career was starting to take a downward trajectory having missed his chance to make his first-team debut when he felt he was ready. Even the advice of Louis Carey wasn't enough for Tristan to knock on the manager's door to ask for his opportunity.
"I was on the bench, it never quite happened and in my second year they offered me another year on top - so I was thinking in my third year I might get a chance but the same thing happened. I was on the bench two or three times against West Brom and someone else but I didn't end up coming on.
"When I was ready for it, I never got the opportunity because I was advanced for my age at the time. When I was doing so well for England, I reckon I was ready to play first-team football then and after a while, the years go by and you're just training and your confidence goes - the mentality goes as well, it was very weak to how it is now.
"If I was how I am now back then, I would have gone and knocked on the manager's door at a young age and asked what was going on. A lot of the first team players like Louis Carey said 'go and knock on his door' - everyone said I had so much ability and talent, 'why aren't you getting the opportunity?'
"I'd never had a bad attitude I always got my head down but I almost got too comfortable. I should have carried on pushing myself and said if this door doesn't open I'm going to kick it down or get the opportunity somewhere else."
In 2010, Tristan's time at City was over when his contract wasn't renewed which coincided with the departure of Johnson as Steve Coppell came to the helm at Ashton Gate.
The now-Gogglebox star can only laugh at the irony of his appointment when he said: "The year I left, Gary Johnson left too and Steve Coppell came in and played all the young kids then so it's funny how football works out, the wrong place at the wrong time - it's fine margins."
Tristan would go on to play in Portugal for Portimonense for one season before juggling a career among clubs in Non-League while watching his close mates Danny Rose and Danny Welbeck - his U17 England team-mates, hit the headlines in the Premier League.
But he looks back on his time with no regrets, remains thankful for the opportunities he was gifted as a youngster and declares he has become a better man all for it.
"I don't regret it because I have two beautiful kids now maybe if I moved away, I wouldn't have had them and now I'm doing other things that I enjoy doing.
"Maybe I could have been in a better position financially but at the end of the day my happiness is more important, I'm happy and I came to terms with that ages ago. I hold no grudge or resentment towards the manager or club.
"Playing for the academy was the best time of my life. The thing I loved most with City in general, I remember waking up and just having a bus card, life wasn't... I was getting paid £45 a week, having a bus card, I could go anywhere.
"I had a Puma sponsorship and I used to give clothes, boots and footballs to everyone in my neighbourhood. I was in a fortunate position so I didn't take it for granted.
"Football brings people together. I've only got positive things to say about football."
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