Hearts' 16-year-old sensation Harry Cochrane is the latest wonderkid rising to fame in Scotland, but before him there was Ryan Gauld.
Gauld burst onto the scene with Dundee United back in 2012 and quickly became a creative maestro tipped for future stardom. The attacking midfielder was dubbed the 'Scottish Messi' and by the age of 18 was already an ever-present in the Scottish top flight.
However, he decided to ditch his homeland for Portuguese giants Sporting back in 2014 and since then his career has taken a downward spiral.
The 22-year-old now finds himself out on loan with Desportivo Aves, who sit 13th in the Primeira Liga table, and the early expectancy surrounding him appears to be miles off.
He is a fleet-footed attacker renowned for his technical ability, but for some reason or another, has not lived up to the hype since his move overseas and Scottish fans will be wondering why he has disappeared.
Gauld has made just five senior appearances for Sporting and loan spells at Vitoria Setubal and Desportivo suggest he is still someway off, with just one goal in 21 appearances this season for the latter.
The young Scotsman is certainly not the first player to fall into the trap of fading away after such a promising start in their career, where he scored nine goals and supplied 12 assists in 51 appearances for Dundee United.
Federico Macheda at Manchester United, Ghanian Freddy Adu, and even ex-Real Madrid player Royston Drenthe are all guilty of wasting such great potential.
Gauld certainly still have time to save his stuttering career, but at the age of 22 he can no longer be considered a young product and needs to start delivering at senior level.
A return to Scotland could be in his best interests to try rediscover his sparkling form, but he is not the only British player plying their trade across Europe.
Jadon Sancho, Reece Oxford and Chris Willock are several British players that are also competing overseas and the former is a standout winger that is making a name for himself at Germany heavyweights Borussia Dortmund.
Should Gauld ditch Portugal and opt for a return to Scotland?
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WORDS BY DOM TONER - Follow him on Twitter
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