When Burnley completed a deal for Quilindschy Hartman, it was deemed a bit of a coup.
A year ago, the now-23-year-old was at the top of his game. The left-back played a major role in winning the Eredivisie with Feyenoord at the age of just 21 and was closing in on a spot in the Netherlands' Euro 2024 squad.
But that wasn't the only big change in the works last summer. Hartman was in talks to sign for Chelsea, with Arsenal also interested. Then disaster struck.
A serious knee injury in March 2024 ended not only his Euro hopes but his chance of a dream move. He would not return for 10 months - when he made his comeback for Feyenoord in February of this year.
"It was close," says Hartman about his Premier League move. "You never know in football but if I was fit, then it would have happened.
"But sometimes in life you have to change direction a little bit. That's what happened to me.
"It was one and a half years ago, but coming back pretty fast, then getting the chance to come here… it feels like a big blessing that I feel fit and I am able to play and move like I did before."
Hartman would end up getting his Premier League move - but it would be to Burnley. The young defender could have easily stayed where he was - with his boyhood club for 15 years and Champions League football.
But it was time for a change - with one goal in mind: "The World Cup".
"It's something I want to be in. I missed the last Euros because of the injury. There were some tough moments when I saw my team-mates playing there. In Holland, the whole street is orange and it was tough to watch that.
"Everyone was telling you: 'oh it's so sad you're not there'. But for the rest of it, I'm a positive guy. I try to look at the bright side of everything."
But why Burnley, especially given he was so close so a bigger move just one year ago? "The way they were prepared for the talks, the way they already knew a lot of me," he says. "Not only on the field, which is very important, of course, but also off the pitch.
"They knew already a lot of things about me as a person and why I should fit in the squad. And that was one of the biggest reasons why I thought and got the feeling of: 'I should go and join them.'"
Not without one important phone call first, in Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman. "I just asked him before I made the decision: 'what do you think would be smart for me?'
"And he told me that he thinks it would be a very good decision for me to go here to play in the biggest league against the best players so that I can show him that I'm ready to be back in the national team."
Hartman is swapping more than just the Netherlands for England, or even his boyhood club for the chance to play against players he's used on his PlayStation before. It's a completely new way of life.
"It's tougher. The impact of a duel is harder. Here the players are stronger, faster," he says. "The play is a little bit more direct - so if there's an opportunity to go deep and put the ball over the top, you do it.
"Whereas at Feyenoord, maybe you try to keep the ball. Even if the opponent is pressing so high, you just try to play out.
"It's a little bit more direct, just in the mind. We need to score. And in Feyenoord, it's a little bit more about playing.
"The culture is a little bit different than in Holland. The CEO would never go on the table or something and eat with us. And here it's a little bit different. Everyone is just there together.
"So Burnley is a really, really good group. Nice people, not only the players, but just everyone in the building. For me, it's not a difference if I speak to someone who's a cleaner or a player."
Another aspect that will help Hartman settle in is his love for the darts, which isn't surprising given how the Dutch are just as fanatical about the sport as English players are.
And Hartman is a decent player too, with plans to take up the arrows after his playing days are done. He has an average score of 75 - to enter the PDC Darts School, you need an average of at least 85.
Given he can boast friendships with Michael Smith, Luke Humphries, Chris Dobie and Stephen Bunting - who all congratulated him on his move to Burnley - he has some decent people to learn off.
"That's not a joke!" says Hartman when asked about his desire to become a professional darts player after football. "I will try because I know for sure that after my career, I will play just darts competitions.
"And then let's see. I don't even practice regularly, only around two hours a day."
But like every good darts player, you don't miss twice. Hartman knows that after a tumultuous 18 months or so, this is a second chance he has to take on the Premier League.