This time last year, Marc Guehi had never even played in the Premier League.
Now, the Crystal Palace defender is celebrating a maiden call-up to the England senior team after a fine debut campaign in the top flight. Guehi has taken nicely to life with the Eagles. His call-up by England boss Gareth Southgate, himself a former Palace centre-half, is testament to the 21-year-old's rise to prominence.
Despite being on the books of Chelsea for 14 years, a large part of his development came in two concurrent loan spells with Championship side Swansea City. That is the place where Guehi got regular football and showed not only an obvious defensive knack but an ability to play out from the back - a prerequisite in recent years for Swansea.
He made 57 appearances for the Welsh club, playing his part in guiding them to first the play-off semi-finals and then the final the season after. But while his teammates were left ruing a near-miss of the big time, Guehi had done more than enough to convince Palace of his ability to handle it in the Premier League.
New manager Patrick Vieira sanctioned an £18million move that might have raised eyebrows elsewhere, but not inside the confines of Selhurst Park. Guehi, despite his relative lack of senior playing time, had already lifted the under-17s World Cup as England captain in 2017 (scoring in the final) and also led them to that year's European Championship final.
Additionally, he was named in the 'team of the tournament' for the latter. He has progressed through all the age ranks with the national side, winning 16 caps for the under-21s.
There are countless players who sign for Chelsea or come through their academy, only to end up on the endless conveyor belt of loan spells. Guehi, though, has shown that it is possible for players to escape that cycle.
Steve Owen, who coached Guehi as a youngster with London side Cray Wanderers, says his mentality made him stand out from a young age. Speaking to the Sun, he said: “From a coaching point-of-view, he was an absolute dream. Anything you asked of him, he’d do.
“The only thing he wouldn’t do was play in another position! He wouldn’t go past the halfway line. His whole intent was to stop the opposition. From a young age, he stood out. I wouldn’t say he was the most talented players, but he was very studious."
A similar opinion was echoed by Steve Cooper, who managed Guehi whilst at Swansea and as England under-17s boss. Upon Guehi's arrival at City, at a time when he had only played two senior cup games for his parent club, he made a bold prediction. “Marc is a calming influence," Cooper said. "And when he’s a lot older he will be a real leader and captain."
Indeed, Guehi has already been given the Palace armband twice. England take on Switzerland and Ivory Coast next week in a Wembley friendly double-header. Southgate said of the decision to pick Guehi: "He's had a really consistent season. In the biggest games, he's been very calm. We know alot about him from our development teams... we think it's a good opportunity to see how he copes with being with us."
Regardless of whether he gets plenty of gametime, a little or none at all, Guehi's stock is rising - and it is surely the first of many call-ups.
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