Matt Grimes made his first professional appearance for Exeter City with an accomplished performance in a 2-0 win against Wimbledon in August 2013.
It would have been fitting if the 19-year-old midfielder had rounded things off with a man-of-the-match display in a win against the Dons on Sunday, but it was not to be.
He was left out of the 18-man squad, with the official line from the club being that he was too ill to travel, and City crashed to a 4-1 defeat. Is that a sign of things to come for a City side without Grimes?
I wouldn't have thought so. I don't want to understate the youngster's influence on the side, he has provided plenty of match-winning assists and goals already this season, but the Grecians have plenty of experienced midfield cover and should be able to adequately cope with his expected departure.
I say expected, but by the time you are reading this the news of Grimes' exit could have already been confirmed, with the transfer window officially opening as the clock strikes midnight on Friday night.
City officials have already started planning how they are going to spend the money as well. A statement on the club's website before Christmas detailed how they would use any incoming transfer funds.
There is no problem with this of course – it is nice to see the club's board keeping the fans informed.
I have to say I was pleased to see that they want to improve the club's youth academy to category two status. I think that is a splendid, forward-thinking idea.
The club are currently at category three level and would need to build indoor training facilities and a rubbercrumb (all-weather) pitch at the Cat & Fiddle training ground to get up to the next level.
Getting category two status will benefit the club in a few ways. Firstly it will allow City to attract the best young players in the South West to St James's Park. Torquay United, Plymouth Argyle and Bournemouth currently have category three academies, while Yeovil Town axed its youth teams in April 2013 amid cost concerns.
If City can improve their facilities then it will be something they can use to attract young footballers to the club by saying to their parents 'your child has a better chance of succeeding at this club than at any other in Devon, Dorset or Somerset' – and they will.
The upgrade should also help the first team. How many times over recent years have City suffered because the Cat & Fiddle has been waterlogged and they have been unable to train properly in the winter months?
Last season that was certainly the case and I'm sure Paul Tisdale can name plenty of other occasions during his time in charge when this has happened.
There is a negative of course to spending some of the transfer cash on the facilities.
The upgrade is likely to be expensive and as a result it will leave less cash available to spend on the playing squad to help them get promoted this campaign.
However, that is as short-sighted as the Glovers' decision to get rid of its youth academy to cut costs.
If you spend money on developing young players it is an investment – theoretically it should make money.
If City give themselves the best chance of attracting the best young players to the club, and then give them the best chance to succeed by giving them the best facilities, then they should produce good players. In fact in two or three years' time in may produce another player capable of matching or surpassing Grimes' ability.
That would give City another financial windfall and, with more money and better players, they will be able to progress up the leagues and stay there in the long term.
