They say never fall in love with a loan player - but Tammy Abraham's return to Aston Villa proves some chapters are meant to be reopened.
"The fallen giants are back on their feet," were the famous words uttered by Your Site' Daniel Mann after Villa secured promotion in 2019.
At time of writing, 2,738 days have passed since that day, the last time Abraham donned claret and blue. Chelsea, Roma, AC Milan and Besiktas have all followed but seven years later, the No 18 shirt is his once more.
In truth, the club would not be where it is today without him. The striker, signed on loan while Steve Bruce was still at the helm, scored 26 goals in 40 appearances.
A short but incredibly fruitful stay, which left a sense of unfinished business in the Second City.
"It still doesn't feel real," he told the official club website. "Since the first time I arrived here, I fell in love with the club.
"I always told myself [that] if I had to come back to England, Villa would be one of the special teams to come back to."
That dream is now a reality, with Abraham in line to make his second debut for the club against Brentford on Sunday, live on Your Site. An injury to Ollie Watkins also now means that could arrive in the starting line-up.
In anticipation of the striker pulling on the shirt again, Your Site spoke to the manager who got the best out of him during his first stint at the club.
"He just loves scoring goals," former Villa boss Dean Smith, a boyhood fan who guided the club to promotion with Abraham leading the line, told Your Site.
"He was hungry to score goals, he was hungry to be successful. We tried to sign him when we sold Jack [Grealish], but Chelsea held on to too much money, unfortunately, and we had to move elsewhere.
"But he's somebody who I think can go and excite the fans again and connect with them.
"He was a really well-liked person in the dressing room as well, which tells you a lot about his character. The biggest thing I remember is that every goal he scored in training, he celebrated like it was a goal in the Premier League."
Abraham was a long-term target for Smith and current boss Unai Emery echoed that sentiment.
Reports have suggested Emery was interested in signing the forward in 2023, until an ACL injury during Roma's final game of that season brought preliminary discussions to an abrupt end.
Good things come to those who wait and Villa have their man now, offering crucial reinforcements to the squad following the departure of Donyell Malen to Abraham's former club, Roma.
"He'll be good news for everybody, to be honest," Smith added on Abraham's return. "He's got an obvious connection with all the supporters there for what he's done in the promotion-winning season.
"He loved his time at Villa and we loved having him there as well. He's a good player.
"He's been troubled with a couple of injuries but he's come back from that and he's always got the bit between his teeth to go and score goals. The challenge will be to either go and play with Ollie Watkins or go and challenge him."
A challenge indeed. In an ideal world, clubs have a plethora of options to call upon with depth in every position. But finding that balance in the striker department at Villa has always proved to be problematic.
Smith, Steven Gerrard and even Emery himself have all failed, with the same outcome emerging each time - a player leaving.
Danny Ings, Jhon Duran and most recently Malen have all arrived and swiftly left, with Watkins remaining ever present in claret and blue.
Smith is perfectly placed to discuss the dilemma but given Villa have the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup and a fresh injury for Watkins to balance, he believes the depth will only benefit the club.
He said: "You're playing that many games now, Villa are in Europe regularly, they're going quite deep in cup competitions.
"There are a lot more games, so you do need more depth in the squad and that's what going and getting somebody like Tammy will give you.
"One of these players can get injured and then all of a sudden you need the other one. It's ideal to have a couple and you're blessed if you get two as talented as Ollie and Tammy."
Smith was speaking before the 3-2 win against RB Salzburg in the Europa League but injury fears for Watkins, who limped off in the first half, are now a reality.
The return of the striker now arrives at the perfect time.
Smith spoke highly of his former player but looking past the fairy-tale reunion, Villa need him to contribute immediately.
A congested fixture schedule has weighed heavily on the head of Watkins and with Villa looking to secure a spot in the top five of the league table at the very least, the expectations for Abraham will be high.
How do Villa get the best out of him? Smith believes Abraham's presence will provide them with several different avenues to explore.
"He can do a little bit of both," he said. "He's definitely good up to feet. He's got really tidy feet, so he can get it, set it, and go. If there are low crosses, high crosses, he can get on the end of that as well.
"There are different ways that Tammy scores. There's not one particular type of goal. He's good off both feet, and he's definitely good in the air."
One area of his game has gone under the radar and his signing could result in Villa improving at both ends of the pitch as a result.
Across the league season so far, Villa have conceded an expected goals value of 10xG from set pieces, the fourth highest in the division, with eight goals arriving from these situations.
Abraham can help in this department. "One of the things that people don't take from his time when I had him was how good defensively off set-pieces he was," Smith said.
"You put him at the near post and he used to head every corner out. He used to certainly help us defensively from set-pieces as well as scoring goals." Preventing goals could prove to be just as valuable as scoring them.
Abraham's return is steeped in nostalgia but his signing is about impact, not sentiment. Villa need depth and quality more than ever and if he can rediscover the same sharpness that fired Villa to promotion, his second spell could play another crucial role in the club's history.
The role he plays - whether it's rotational or forcing his way into the starting line-up - is up for debate, but that serves as a reminder of how far the team has come - and where they intend to go next.
Watch Aston Villa vs Brentford live on Your Site Premier League from 12.30pm on Sunday, February 1. Kick-off 2pm
