Lewis Holtby spoke of his sheer delight upon signing for Tottenham Hotspur in January 2013.
"Tottenham are a top club and I'm fulfilling my dream," Holtby, 22 at the time, said, per BBC Sport.
"I have spoken to [Spurs manager] Andre Villas-Boas and I am confident in his plans."
Four years on from his arrival at White Hart Lane, Holtby probably wishes he hadn’t even bothered.
The German made just 43 appearances for the club and was sent out on loan to Fulham and Hamburg, who made Holtby’s temporary stay a permanent one in 2015.
Holtby showed promise in his early years - indeed, he captained the Germany side at the 2013 European Under-21 Championship, and represented Die Mannschaft’s senior squad three times - but his career has petered out into relative mediocrity.
Holtby's funny moment in Ledley King's testimonial
Ask any Spurs fan to recall their finest Holtby moment and most will bring up what he did in Ledley King’s testimonial in 2014.
Holtby played for a Spurs XI that featured Emmanuel Adebayor, Brad Friedel and Christian Eriksen.
David Ginola, Dimitar Berbatov, Teddy Sheringham, Edgar Davids and Peter Crouch all starred on the opposing side.
Howard Webb was the referee
The contest was refereed by one of the Premier League’s most recognised officials, the now-retired Howard Webb. Webb frustrated a number of players throughout his career but none have ever let out their anger on the former police officer - except Holtby.
During the match, Webb found himself with the ball at his feet. Holtby, just a few yards away, decided to charge towards the ref and wiped him out with a scissor challenge.
Webb got to his feet and pushed Holtby, who dramatically fell the floor.
The crowd inside White Hart Lane absolutely loved it.
Check it out below.
Video: Holtby wipes out Webb
Plenty of change at Tottenham
Fast forward to 2017 and there’s been plenty of change at Tottenham. The situation then appeared almost dire compared to what it’s like today.
Spurs finished sixth in 2014 under Andre Villas-Boas, with Adebayor their best option in attack.
But the north London outfit will be playing Champions League football next season after finishing second in 2016-17, Mauricio Pochettino enhancing his reputation as one of the brightest managers in Europe.
And Adebayor is no longer around, replaced by Harry Kane.
Pochettino: We worked so hard
Pochettino insisted his side will challenge for the title next season as he reflected on Spurs’ best finish in the Premier League.
“We worked so hard to achieve what we did this season,” Pochettino said, per the Telegraph.
“I’m sad at the end because Chelsea won the Premier League but there’s nothing to regret. Only now is to say to our fans is that we will try next season to fight again to win the league.”