Remember when the Dele Alli wave was a thing?
For those who don't, it was a short clip of Alli looking down a camera lens and waving.
It was a viral meme that annoyed some and was used by others to annoy - think the modern-day Kylian Mbappe crying gesture gif.
The actual video itself was made up of images of a fresh-faced Alli from his time with MK Dons and early years at Tottenham Hotspur.
It also offered an insight into what Dele was at that point of his career - a supremely talented young man riding the crest of a footballing wave.
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Alli's football pulsed with an almost juvenile enjoyment at that stage.
He scored goals, wound up opponents and seemed to be having a lovely time doing so.
He was innovative and untainted - the BBC once ran a step-by-step guide on how to mimic a goal celebration Alli created that involved contorting his fingers into a hand monocle.
Of course, in these carefree years Alli hadn't been blemished by the brutal landscape of the modern football.
He hadn't seen a paternal figure in Mauricio Pochettino be sacked by Spurs.
He hadn't been painted as a work-shy luxury player in an access-all-areas Tottenham documentary, during which a frank conversation with Jose Mourinho was broadcast to the world.
And he hadn't been marginalised by Mourinho's predecessors Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.
The current version of Dele feels a long way removed from the youngster who waved and smiled into a camera.
Of course, he's matured from a teenager into a young man and has clearly developed new interests away from football - which of us didn't go through different phases between our late teenage years and mid 20s?
He's tattooed, his hairstyle and fashion sense has changed, and there's more of a rugged edge to his persona.
And crucially on the field over the last couple of years, the unashamed joy Alli had for the game as a youngster appears to have seeped away.
The relentless media lens has been trained on him for years, while the criticism he's faced for footballing and non-footballing matters has been full on.
He looks like a lad the modern game has chewed up and spat out.
Everton and Frank Lampard will look to remedy, and find a way for an extraordinarily talented footballer to fall back in love with the game.
And while he's only made two substitute appearances for the Toffees so far, the ground at Goodison Park appears fertile for footballing romance to blossom for the 25-year-old.
It's why it was encouraging to see Alli quote tweet a video of a new song the Evertonians have created for him on Wednesday.
He only typed out four laughing emojis, but to see him interacting in that way and feeling an early affinity can only be a positive thing.
The fans really seem ready to buy into Alli, as it's apparent what they could have if this signing goes well.
Lampard clearly has a role to play too.
As much as the goalscoring midfielder comparisons are prevalent, perhaps the mere presence of the Chelsea icon on the training pitch can help Dele reignite that adolescent adulation he had for the game growing up, in the same way watching a clip of a goal from your favourite player growing up puts you back in that childhood headspace.
"I can learn so much from him," said Alli of Lampard after signing for the Toffees.
"He scored a lot of goals from midfield, I will speak to him about that and the way he fought on the pitch and what he did to make the most of his talent."
Of course, the main factor in Alli being a success at Everton is Alli.
But there's an opportunity for him to reset on Merseyside, under a coach and fanbase who appear ready to go all in on his talent.
"I wanna be like Dele Alli," is one of the lines in the new song for Dele, to the tune of Pulp's anthem Common People.
If that's the Alli that's positive, performing well and enjoying his football, then Goodison Park will be some venue between now and the end of the season.
