Eyebrows hit the ceiling when Chelsea capped another transfer window of extravagant spending by splurging £42 million ($53m) on Manchester City academy product Cole Palmer in the summer - a player with only a handful of senior starts to his name at the time. Fast-forward six months and that price tag looks more like a bargain with each passing day, with Palmer proving to be one of - if not the - signings of the season.
The attacker has emerged as Chelsea's most important player aged just 21. He boasts 24 goal contributions - added to the two he already had for City before his exit - and is leading the way in pretty much every attacking metric for his new club.
It is little surprise, then, that he has taken strides forward in his international career, too. There was an element of luck to his initial call-up to Gareth Southgate's senior England squad in November amid a raft of injuries, but Palmer's form means he is now well and truly in the frame with Euro 2024 on the horizon. Indeed, he should be starting for the Three Lions in Germany.