Jonathan Afolabi is a name that might ring a bell to fans of Scottish football - albeit as a name that lingers as what could've been, rather than one that hit the heights expected of him at Celtic.
The 23-year-old was born just two weeks after the new millennium in January 2000, raised in Dublin, and played football at youth level with St Joseph's Boys and heavy hitters Shamrock Rovers as one of Ireland's rising stars.
A 16-year-old impressed at youth level, but it was only a matter of time before a big side came in to the fold for his services to fuel his development at an exponential rate. That came in the form of Southampton; signing him at school leaving age, the youngster spent three years at St Mary's, aiming to knock on the door for a starting spot at the established Premier League outfit. The chance never arrived. He needn't have been worried at this point - as is the talent pool in the Premier League, some players are released late into their teens but find that they can pick themselves up further down the line.
What Afolabi needed was a club primed for its youth development so that he could see a fast-track to the first team and ultimately play men's football at a young age. Celtic came knocking.
Having signed Afolabi after scoring six goals in 16 games for Republic of Ireland under-19's, it seemed quite an astute signing from then-Celtic boss Neil Lennon. But with the Hoops firing on all cylinders in their treble-treble quest, Afolabi was made to wait.
Loan spells at Dunfermline, Dundee, Ayr United and Airdrieonians followed; first-team football was imperative as he moved into his twenties, though with three spells in the Scottish Championship and a further one in League One, just 10 goals in 69 SPFL appearances saw Afolabi leave Celtic at the end of last season.
He has found a place back home at Bohemians - the city where it all began - in the hope of grabbing goals in the League of Ireland Premier Division. He made three appearances at the start of the season which perhaps saw some hope for him, though he has failed to feature in a squad since 'Bohs' slumped to a sixth-placed finish in the top-flight.
With the new season set to come around in nine days, Afolabi will be hoping to break that duck and prove that he can cut it once and for all in his home nation. On the other hand, many will be looking back and thinking that it was a potential talent, one tipped with Scottish Premiership prowess all the same, gone to waste.
But Afolabi doesn't think like that despite his regrets. After acknowledging that he wasn't going to break into the first-team picture at Celtic, he never let his head drop. Though he admits that he could have been more professional and taken responsibility more despite exiting his teens, he does not see the move to Glasgow as a missed opportunity.
He told the Irish Independent: “After two years I think I knew I wasn't going to make the first team. I had planned to get into the first team, that's why I went there but there are very high expectations at a club like Celtic, they expect to win every game and you need to be at the top of your level to even have a sniff.
“I read that Celtic was bad for a lot of young Irish players, us not breaking through but there are two sides to it, if the players don't perform, they have no reason to put you into the first team. We had different pathways and we're making our way now in different ways.
“I take responsibility for stuff I could have done better, been more professional, I didn't do anything wrong as such but there were steps I needed to take to improve, if I had taken all of my opportunities it could have been a different story for me at Celtic, you have to be ready when it happens.
“I can’t say it was three wasted years, I learned the levels you need to be at, how professional you need to be, what hard work you need to put that Celtic shirt."
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