With Celtic playing in the Champions League and Wales reaching the semi-final’s of Euro 2016 it should have been a year to remember for Adam Matthews.
It 2012 he helped Celtic win the title, played regularly in the Champions League and build on at international career that had started at u-17 level.
Last night Matthews was looking in from the outside as Wales drew 0-0 with Ireland in a World Cup qualifier.
At club level it has gone south rapidly. A £2m move to Sunderland in 2015 promised to be a stepping stone to the riches of the Premier League but after one substitute appearance he was discarded. A loan move to Bristol City towards the end of the season failed to open up a place in the Wales squad for the European Championships.
This season Matthews has been back on loan with Bristol City but has started just 11 Championship fixtures with the right-back role at Ashton Lane described as a problem position.
With his Sunderland contract expiring at the end of the season the 25-year-old faces an uncertain time over the coming months.
For two years it all seemed to be going well for Matthews, early in the 2013/14 season he looked outstanding playing right midfield against AC Milan in the San Siro.
A dislocated shoulder soon afterwards halted his progress, he returned to play in the 6-1 defeat at the Nou Camp, since then it’s been downhill all the way for the full-back that seemed destined for the very top when he broke into the Celtic side.