Even before Nathan Collins waltzed his way through the Ukrainian defence to score a memorable first senior international goal on Tuesday night in Lodz, the Ireland defender was already etching his name into the gossip columns at club level.
The Leixlip native had strong second half of the season for Burnley but the club's relegation from the Premier League and question marks over the future finances available has led to speculation that the Clarets may cash in on a prized asset.
But as the 21-year-old has shown for Ireland during June's UEFA Nations League fixtures, he is a player at home at the highest level.
While Vincent Kompany and Burnley would be keen on keeping him to aid their Championship push provided they don't cash in, former Ireland striker Stephen Elliott and ex-Drogheda United League of Ireland winner Graham Gartland told the RTÉ Soccer Podcast that they are hopeful of seeing Collins back in a top division.
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"He's proven he can play in the Premier League," said former Sunderland, Wolves and Manchester City striker Elliott.
"Personally, I think he's able to play in the Premier League and he's ready to go and play in the Premier League regularly and I think that will help him develop as a player coming up against the top players week in, week out.
"But on the other hand, you've got Vincent Kompany there at Burnley as a manager now, probably one of the best centre-backs ever to play in the Premier League, if not the best.
"A true leader and someone (Collins) could learn a hell of a lot off. So he may have a bit of a decision to make or it might be taken out of his hands - it depends on the situation Burnley are in financially."
While Elliott does not expect a top-six Premier League club to make a move for him at present, he and Gartland identified teams from upper mid-table and below that could provide a platform for Collins' talents.
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"You're looking at the likes of a Crystal Palace or teams in and around there," said Elliott, who then suggested Everton with Gartland agreeing and adding that "they need a centre-back".
Elliott continued: "They've conceded a lot of goals as well. I'm sure Frank Lampard would want to get his team playing a nice brand of football and he'll fit the bill there. But I'm sure there are a lot of Premier League clubs fully aware of what Collins has done over the past few months and obviously in this window so he won't be short of suitors."
But he added that staying at Burnley for next season "would not be the end of the world" for the up-and-coming defender.
From an Ireland point of view, both Elliott and Gartland said Collins has shown that he should be the first pick at centre-back and would be the perfect option to permanently take on the central position in the back three, flanked by options like Dara O'Shea, Darragh Lenihan, John Egan, Seamus Coleman and Andrew Omobamidele.
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"The value of having Collins as your central one is that it allows your left-sided and right-sided centre-backs to slide out into wide areas quicker because they know they have a lot of pace inside them to help," Gartland explained.
"So your wing-backs can engage a little bit higher. Collins has that recovery pace to help.
"I think sometimes with (Shane) Duffy I can see him - and you do this as a centre-back, you protect yourself and pull people in and it stops the distances becoming a little bit too much and (opposition) teams get a little bit more time on the ball than they should. So for me Collins has to play."
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