Perhaps it is fate that Destiny Udogie only today made his Tottenham debut.
The left-back signed for Spurs last summer as part of a deal that could eventually be worth £20million, but was immediately loaned back to Udinese.
Since then Antonio Conte has left Spurs and been replaced by Ange Postecoglou, who is letting Udogie state his case for the left-back spot during pre-season and he began with a goal in a 3-2 loss to West Ham on Tuesday.
It feels like ideal timing, with Udogie's attacking style seemingly a perfect match for the way Postecoglou wants Spurs to play.
"I like his idea of football," says the 20-year-old. "He wants to play with the ball, wants to have the ball. We're going to play good football. I like to attack, to overlap the winger, cut inside, come inside driving the ball, different things."
Born and raised in Italy to Nigerian parents, his full name is Iyenoma Destiny Udogie. Iyenoma, fittingly, means good news.
Udogie will be hoping his arrival is exactly that for Spurs, with the club looking to bounce back from a difficult season.
"Almost every Premier League game, I was watching [Spurs]," he says. "I think the Premier League is a difficult league. I know it is a big league, a very challenging league. I'm ready, I have confidence."
Udogie primarily played as a wing-back for Udinese, but insists he is comfortable playing in a back-four, given Postecoglou's preference for a 4-3-3 system.
The left-back spot is up for grabs at Spurs, with Ivan Perisic likely to leave and Sergio Reguilon returning from a spell on loan at Atletico Madrid. Ben Davies, another option, played at left centre-back in Perth as Spurs kicked off their pre-season.
"It's not a problem for me [to play left-back]. I know how to play it and it's normal," says Udogie. "When I started [playing], I was a left-back.
"I think left wing-back [makes] you more free to attack, you have more space to attack. You play full width, so it's different. But left-back, you have to defend. It's more, not difficult, but more busy. There are more options to do.
"I liked Marcelo [as a player], I used to watch him a lot. Marcelo and Alex Sandro. Now I watch less, but I love the way he [Marcelo] played football. It was so clean, the technique, the style, everything."
Udogie is fluent in English, as that was the primary language in the family home growing up, which should help him adapt to life in London.
"It was always football, just football," he says, recalling his childhood. "I started playing at four. It was always my dream to play professionally. I think my mum [pushed me]. She found out this passion for football because when I was a baby I was kicking everything I saw around the house."
He has visited London a few times and watched Tottenham's 2-0 win at home to West Ham in February. "I can't wait to play there," he says. "As a big team we want to achieve everything."
Destiny was speaking at a Tottenham Hotspur Global Football Development session with beneficiaries from Telethon, one of the largest charities in WA that raises funds to deliver programmes for sick, vulnerable, and disadvantaged children. The participants were also invited to the team’s open training session in Perth from which all proceeds will be donated to Telethon.
