When he signed for Celtic in January 2012 great things were predicted of Rabiu Ibrahim- as they had been previously at Sporting Lisbon and PSV Eindhoven.
Tales of his exploits with Nigerian international youth sides accompanied the midfielder but a year later he was playing for Kilmarnock before joining Slovakian side AS Trencin last summer.
Four substitute appearances totalling 95 minutes suggests that the big breakthrough is still proving elusive for the player who will turn 24 in March.
Breaking into a Celtic midfield that contained Victor Wanyama, Joe Ledley, Scott Brown, Ki Sung Yueng and Beram Kayal was always going to be asking a lot.
A substitute appearance at home to St Johnstone after the league was won marked his debut but there was little to distinguish the young Nigerian from his fellow substitutes Pawel Brozek and Andre Blackman.
By the time he started a Scottish Cup tie against Arbroath in December 2012 his Celtic career seemed to be ending despite the excitement of signing earlier that year.
“I feel very happy and excited to be joining Celtic,” he said in January 2012. “I have wanted to join Celtic for a long time to develop myself. They were interested in me in 2010 when I was with Sporting Lisbon.
“I don’t know why that never happened but that was then and I’m happy now that I’m here at Celtic.
“The atmosphere here is great and the people are great. They are always nice to me and encouraging me so I already feel at home.
“The players have made me feel welcome and happy. It’s just like a big family here. They carry everybody along, and I’m happy with that.
“I’m delighted as Celtic are a big club – they like good players, produce good players and encourage and give the young players the opportunity to prove themselves and showcase their talents.
“I’m happy that I’m here and strongly believe that I will get the opportunity to prove myself and improve my game.”
A loan spell at Kilmarnock in January 2013 was converted to a permanent deal later that year but a change of manager and a brief flurry under Alan Johnson and Ibrahim was on the move again.
With a CV that includes Celtic, PSV Eindhoven and Sporting Lisbon, Ibrahim will always attract attention but as he fights for a place at AS Trencin it seems that the early promise and hype is as far away as ever from being fulfilled.