Back in August 2021, Thomas Tuchel sprinkled a major surprise into his Chelsea line up for the Blues' Premier League opener against Crystal Palace. Sitting at the heart of his back three was not Thiago Silva, nor was it Kurt Zouma, who both had to settle for a place on the bench.
Instead, Trevoh Chalobah, flanked on either side by Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, was given the nod. His selection represented the realisation of a lifelong dream. Moving to London from Sierra Leone as a toddler, Chalobah was picked up by Chelsea before his ninth birthday and progressed through the youth ranks, forming part of the young Blues sides that won the 2015-16 UEFA Youth League and FA Youth Cup on two occasions.
How much this debut meant to the centre back became abundantly clear in the second half against the Eagles. Latching onto a crossfield pass from Mateo Kovacic 25 yards out, Chalobah inched forward gingerly before unleashing a rasping drive into the far corner. Vicente Guaita got a hand to it, but it wasn't enough, as the ball nestled into the back of the net.
The enormity of this storybook moment proved too much for Chalobah. After raising his hands to thank the heavens, he covered his face to hide the tears beginning to form and disappeared into Cesar Azpilicueta's embrace, before being ecstatically mobbed by his team-mates.
"I couldn't believe it when the ball went in. I didn't know what to do and I dropped to my knees," he told the BBC after the game. "I was over the moon. I didn't know the ball went in until the crowd cheered. It's a surreal moment."
Debuts simply do not get better than that, and it should have been the start of Chalobah forging his legend at Stamford Bridge. However, the Cobham graduate's Blues career now looks set to end in the most depressing way imaginable.