At just 20 years of age, Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer is already a well-known figure amongst the first team, having made his Premier League debut this campaign.
Moreover, a hat-trick against Barrow and a goal against Chelsea in the EFL Cup, as well as six goals in four EFL Trophy appearances for the U23s, has shown that the Englishman is on the verge of regular game time for the Villa first team.
There has been evidence of youngsters becoming first-team regulars for Villa, with 20-year-old midfielder Jacob Ramsey an excellent example.
To ensure that his progress isn't stunted though, the West Midlands outfit sent the youngster on loan to Championship outfit Preston North End for the remainder of the season, and the striker has already made a big impression.
Within minutes of coming off of the bench on his debut for the Whites, Archer netted against one of Villa's fierce rivals in West Bromwich Albion, securing a 2-0 win for his loan side.
Since then, the 20-year-old has started Ryan Lowe's side's following two league matches, blanking in a 2-2 draw at home to Bristol City and scoring the sole goal last time out away at Hull City.
Following the loanee's debut, Lowe said: "He’ll just get better in terms of our style, he’s just got to adapt, it’s a little bit different to how they play at Villa.
“What we’ve got to do is make sure we get him in the right areas, in the first half we didn’t get him in the right areas, we didn’t slide many balls down the sides of them. Fantastic performance, really pleased for him, the more games he plays, the better he will be."
Three games in and two goals to show for it, the opening weeks of Archer's loan spell have gone exactly to plan, with the striker's temporary move having the potential of being a masterstroke for both clubs.
For Preston, they are still well in with a shout of securing a finish in the playoff places, with Lowe's side sat in 11th with 41 points, four off sixth-placed West Brom, all though the Baggies do have a game in hand.
With the Englishman's goals, the Lancashire outfit could propel up the table and find themselves breathing down the necks of the second tier's elite.
As for Villa, the hope will be that Steven Gerrard will be receiving a striker with much more experience of playing senior football at a high level who can then be integrated into his squad as and when he's needed.
To think that the 20-year-old could be leading the line for Villa as early as next season seems a rather tall ask, however, Ollie Watkins' future is uncertain, with Arsenal continuously linked with the 26-year-old whilst Danny Ings hasn't had the most impressive start to his Villa tenure.
The main hope will be that Archer will return to the West Midlands as an improved player who can properly break through in Gerrard's side next campaign, potentially saving the club millions on a Watkins replacement in the process.