Dom Ball has wasted little time impressing his new teammates, and anyone familiar with his life and career won't be surprised.
The ex-Tottenham youth star rejoined Cambridge United last month, following a loan stint with the U's when he was a Spurs player in 2015.
The 29-year-old has penned a two-year deal with the League Two side after a solitary season at Leyton Orient.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, during a media day organised by new Cambridge sponsors, Brooks Running, his new captain, Michael Morrison, said: "You're looking at him going, he's a leader.
"He's somebody that I want to be on the pitch with. So I think that's going to be a fantastic signing for us."
Despite making his professional debut with Cambridge over a decade ago, Ball still has plenty more to give to help the club in their EFL bid.
However, the midfielder is also prepared for his eventual life after football after experiencing the highs and lows of the game.
Four years ago, Ball graduated from the Open University after successfully completing a course in business studies at QPR.
On the origins of securing his BA honours degree, he told talkSPORT: "At Spurs, I didn't get given a pro contract, which I felt like I deserved.
"So I didn't want to feel like there was so much pressure on my football. So I decided that when I went back to Spurs as a third-year scholar, I'm gonna do a business degree, which is gonna be six years.
"If things don't work out in football, then I do have something that I can use, and actually doing that benefited my football.
"There was less pressure on that. I enjoyed my football more, and since then, I've sort of continued to do some form of studying or something outside of football that is beneficial."
One of those off-field pursuits included becoming an author, with his first book published a year after he'd completed his degree.
Ball's extremely personal story, 'From Winning Teams to Broken Dreams', details the varied experiences of six boys plucked from junior clubs as children by England’s biggest football academies.
For his part, the Englishman was released by Watford's academy when he was 15, and later left Spurs without playing a game.
His successful career across the EFL and at Scottish giants Rangers and Aberdeen has meant Ball is one of the feel-good stories.
But he's more than aware of others who didn't follow a similar pathway, having been asked whether the game has improved in pastoral care since he was an academy player.
"Yes, it has [improved], Ball continued to talkSPORT. "I think that it has in terms of duty of care for players whilst they're still involved.
"But there's still work to be done, especially for young players who are released.
"The main thing is changing that mindset and approach, so not making it in football is not seen as a failure because young players come out and it is seen as, 'Well, I've lost my dream now', and really struggle for years.
"Lads who were in my book, friends that I've met in football that haven't had a career, trying to navigate life after football is difficult, and so I think just trying to bridge that gap.
"There still needs to be progress. Clubs will do what they have to do. But I think there are things that I'm looking at doing at the moment, which hopefully will try to improve that.
"It's not easy. It's a very ruthless industry that needs to be ruthless because the level is so high, but making it not look not seem like a failure if it doesn't work out.
"More like if you do make it, it's incredible. But if you didn't, 'I gave it my best shot, I gave it everything', and now I'm looking forward to working in a different industry."
Ball's book was written to raise funds for Sarcoma UK, a charity that supports research into the rare form of bone cancer.
The disease sadly claimed the life of his childhood friend Spencer McCall, one of the other six boys, who passed away at age 26.
In 2023, Ball was rewarded for his charity work with a visit to Downing Street in an event hosted by former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, whose brother Charlie also died from the disease.
He added to talkSPORT: "The main thing for me was the cause, which is obviously my best friend, who passed away from a rare form of cancer, sarcoma, which is a Charity that I work with now.
"My book, which I wrote in memory of Spencer, has raised money for that charity.
"As an ambassador, I continue to help them to try and raise money and raise awareness, and every donation is for the charity, so it's really important to spread the word and to go [visit] Downing Street was pretty special."