It's a new week, and Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank will be gearing up for a return to Premier League action at the weekend, when his side travel to Arsenal.
Tottenham have been a mixed bag this season, certainly more secure and steely than last year under Ange Postecoglou's leadership, but lacking the snap and verve that the fanbase associates with the core of the club. To dare is to do, after all.
Someone embodying that mantra right now is Troy Parrott, whose stunning hat-trick at the weekend saw Ireland defeat Hungary and seal a World Cup play-off spot, having only days before bagged a brace to sink Portugal.
The AZ Alkmaar centre-forward, 23, is shaping into quite the goalscorer, becoming the player Spurs knew he could be after he graduated from the academy.
Parrott's record at Spurs
In July 2024, Tottenham sold Parrott to AZ Alkmaar for around £7m. The Republic of Ireland international had made his Premier League debut aged 17, but only ended up featuring three further times across all competitions before leaving for good, having completed no less than five stints out on loan.
In fact, each of the goalscorer's four senior outings for the Lilywhites came during the 2019/20 campaign, and while Spurs knew when they sold him last year that he had untapped potential, it was clear he was going to struggle for minutes given the club's attacking pecking order.
There was plenty of chatter regarding Parrott and his potential, even at that nascent stage. Of course, comparisons against Harry Kane were drawn, and talent scout Jacek Kulig has since praised him for his "incredible" performances over in the Netherlands, making good on that potential that was stunted by injuries.
There was always the promise of success. While he didn't enjoy a prolific spell with Preston North End in the Championship, the player's tenacity could not be questioned. His former manager Ryan Lowe said: "His work rate is phenomenal. For the size of him, he is a bit of a unit inside. He's not massive, but very strong, uses his body very well & he got down the sides plenty of times."
If this tells us anything, it's that development in football is not linear, and it can take talented prospects a time to find their footing after showing initial promise at the foot of their professional career.
Tottenham must learn from their past mistake - if selling Parrott for a small fee could be called an error - and devote plenty of time to their new version of the Irish hero, who arrives in London at the start of 2026.
Spurs have a bigger talent than Parrott
Parrott is growing into his skin, so sharp and dynamic in the final third. There is an expectation that he should kick on and enjoy further success over the coming years, and Spurs may have to watch ruefully on as he makes headway.
However, that poignancy will be tempered and then some by the emergence of Mason Melia, who has completed a transfer rising to £3m last season, slated to join in January after the completion of the Irish league campaign.
Having idolised Kane and made his professional debut as a 15-year-old, the rangy striker is establishing himself as quite the hot prospect, with his former youth coach Hughie Nolan remarking that "nothing has fazed him" as he has raised his level again and again over his formative years.
The Athletic's Connor O'Neill said after the announcement that he's "easily the best young talent I have seen in the League of Ireland". Parrott left his homeland and signed for Spurs before he could make his senior bow, but Melia arguably has more hype around him, and still only 18, there is so much scope for growth.
Having already featured 98 times for St. Patrick's Athletic, notching 25 goals and eight assists, Melia will provide an interesting dimension to a Tottenham side crying out for attacking inspiration. Richarlison and Dominic Solanke have not provided the answer, for differing but equally concerning reasons.
Mathys Tel is a young and talented striker, beginning to show signs of the talent that Tottenham saw when bringing him over from Bayern Munich, but the jury is very much out and there are questions relating to whether the 20-year-old has what it takes to lead the line in the Premier League.
Moreover, he has recently emerged as a transfer target for Roma in Serie A, the Italians viewing him as an alternative option to Manchester United as the winter transfer window draws near.
With Parrott doing so well at the moment, it's inevitable that wistful gazes will be cast toward the Irishman as he establishes himself as one of Europe's most underrated strikers.
But while there's a romanticism about a potential deal in 2026, bringing him back home, there's little need when Tottenham have already signed a more talented Irish striker in Melia, who is now just over a month away from heading down N17.
Frank's ability to nurture young prospects is well known in England, and Tottenham's wider embracing of their youth suggests that Melia has made the right choice in moving to the capital and choosing white. He might be a "hidden gem" at the moment, as said by analyst Ben Mattinson, but Melia will soon establish himself as a major player in the Premier League, notably described as "the Irish Alexander Isak" for his effortless strike of the ball.
Will he need a bit of time? It's more than likely. But the teenager is an aggressive and mobile striker, willing to make runs and connect play while simultaneously keeping one eye on goal at all times.
His wealth of experience, despite his young age, suggests that Tottenham may well hit the jackpot with his addition to the ranks. Parrott might be the talk of the town in Ireland right now, but in Melia, the Londoners have signed a young forward with the capacity to outstrip his older countryman and seal his place among Spurs' finest forwards of the modern age, something Parrott was unable to do before leaving for a small fee.