Everything that Nathan Collins touched this time last year turned to gold.
He had been waiting in the wings for a meaningful Ireland breakthrough ever since his debut off the bench in a friendly win over Qatar towards the end of 2021.
And the defender duly announced his arrival as an Irish international in style with four stellar performances in June’s four-game Nations League window.
READ MORE: What football matches are on TV this week - here's where you can get your football fix
‘That’ stunning solo goal against Ukraine elevated him to new heights and he became Ireland’s most expensive player of all time on the back of it.
He secured a €24 million move to Wolves and started the Premier League season as one of their first-choice centre-backs.
Apart from serving a three-game suspension for a kung-fun challenge on Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, he played every game.
But then, not long after Julen Lopetegui replaced Bruno Lage as manager, Collins found himself frozen out of the side for the second-half of the season.
