It's been a wonderful week for Manchester City's Jason Denayer.
After a highly successful season-long loan with Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, Denayer returned to his parent club this summer to be handed a spot in the club's pre-season tour squad as well as a new five-year deal.
This was certainly justified too. The 20-year-old had a tremendous first season of senior first-team football north of the border, playing 44 games for the Scottish Champions as he established himself as a regular in the team, despite being just a teenager until a few weeks ago.
Denayer managed six goals this season, five in the league, won the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish League Cup with Celtic, whilst racking up a handful of individual honours too - PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, Celtic Young Player of the Year, as well as being named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year.
Celtic were keen to keep their hands on him, and understandably so, but the defender has expressed his desire to play for Manchester City and the club themselves would be wrong to deny him an opportunity in the first team this season given how well he has performed in the last 12 months.
So, what exactly can Denayer bring to the table?
Mature beyond his years
It goes without saying that defence is one of the most high pressure areas to play in on the pitch. A small blip in concentration or foolish error can lead to the ultimate price being paid before the player even has time to react.
This is why so few young, up and coming defenders get a chance at their clubs, because it's rare that they boast the maturity and composure needed to play their position well enough in first team senior football.
However, Denayer does not follow this trend.
The 20-year-old is incredibly composed for his age, relaxed on the ball and calm in possession, whilst understanding when and when not risks can be taken.
His sensible approach to the game, combined with his ability to deceive and take on an opponent successfully in the defensive third, make Denayer an intelligent and effective centre-back who is only going to improve with age.
He does not carry that tendency to be over-zealous like many young defenders do either, standing up in a challenge and anticipating play well with that aforementioned intelligence to win the ball cleanly.
The player has only got better this season on loan with Celtic in a move that will prove incredibly helpful in his development. Whilst the standard of the Scottish Premiership can be questioned, Denayer will have picked up the winning mentality at Celtic, whilst experience gained from playing first team football, not to mention in the Champions League and Europa League, will benefit him marvellously.
Prior to the temporary move, he was just a promising talent, but he established himself in Scotland as one of the best young players in the country, and one who still promises so much more too.
The potential Denayer possesses has been picked up on by many, including those who pursued him this summer before he signed a new deal with City, but also by his national team coach, Marc Wilmots, who has allowed him the chances to win three caps at senior level already since the turn of the year.
The defender's first and only start came against France last month as Belgium won 4-3, with him playing 85 minutes and earning plenty of praise from Wilmots. Following the match, the manager likened Denayer to compatriot Eden Hazard because he is "always calm" and "never...nervous," whilst possessing "a lot of confidence."
Whilst these seem like bold comments from the manager, they are certainly not wide of the mark. Denayer's self-belief at a young age is certainly fantastic to see, whilst he is technically good enough to play further up the park and would even make a fantastic midfielder if required.
However, defence is certainly his strength though and he excels in this role, able to use various other attributes, such as good distribution and vision, to add something extra to the back line.
Physically prepared for the Premier League
Another issue clubs face when integrating young talent into their first team is that many of the players are not yet fully developed physically or ready to take on the tough league that is the English top flight.
Again, this general theme does not apply to Denayer. The 20-year-old, who stands at just over six foot tall, is certainly strong enough to face the challenges posed by powerful strikers such as Christian Benteke, Harry Kane and Diego Costa, whilst he is also fast enough to line up against the likes of Alexis Sanchez and his Belgian teammate, Hazard.
Although he may not have come up against the highest quality of attackers in the Scottish Premiership, playing teams such as Red Bull Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb and Internazionale in the Europa League certainly tested the young defender, and he raised his game for these occasions, helping Celtic progress to round of 32, only for Inter to beat them 4-3 on aggregate to reach the last 16.
Denayer's combination of pace and strength allowed him to shine at these high levels, as well as allowing him to put a strong foot in and come out on top in those 50-50 challenges, whilst his confidence in a tackle saw him bravely dive in where risky but necessary to win the ball brilliantly.
He certainly resembles teammate Vincent Kompany in a physical sense, never out-muscled or beaten in the air with his incredible power, whilst he is even faster than the Manchester City captain, who is pretty pacey himself, albeit occasionally caught out by the top, tricky footballers, such as Hazard.
Added attacking threat
As well as being a solid defender, Denayer is also useful at the opposite end of the pitch for similar reasons.
His aerial ability is simply fantastic, with him a huge threat from set pieces. The 20-year-old has the power to lift himself off the ground marvellously, whilst his strength allows him to resist a challenge to win the ball even under pressure.
On top of this, the power Denayer can get behind a header, not to mention the direction, is deadly in the area and was the biggest reason why he scored five league goals last season for Celtic, six in all competitions, whilst his quick reactions also contributed to the tally.
The youngster doesn't just score goals though, he has an attacking impact by playing his part in his team's build up play too.
Denayer likes to get on the ball and drive forward with it from the back, injecting pace into the team's passing and movement as well as creating space for his teammates by drawing opponents towards him.
His delightful technical ability allows him to do more than just sprint a few yards with the ball as well, with him able to play the occasional through ball, spot the run of a teammate out wide or even cover significant ground in possession before getting a shot off himself from distance.
The latter isn't always successful and is certainly something he can work on to improve his all-round game, with his efforts often lashed high and wide, but the other outcomes on these runs are very much the opposite and give his team an added edge on the attack - as well as giving the player himself another dimension to boast that his competition may not.
Can he stake a claim for a place at Manchester City?
All these strengths are well and good in Scotland at a team who have signed him to start for them, but how will Denayer do fighting for a place at one of England's top four clubs?
First of all, the player needs to impress in pre-season, with his inclusion in City's squad to travel to Australia, before short stops in Vietnam and Germany, this summer sure to be highly significant and his performances there likely to be more than telling when it comes to the outcome of his 2015-16 season at the Etihad.
Another crucial factor will be his ability to adapt to the Premier League. Denayer has all the necessary attributes to allow him to do so, but whether he can apply these to the league is another matter.
His tendency to try something special in his own half may be something he needs to cut down on, just as he begins to get used to the English top flight anyway, as he is far more likely to be punished in a league containing many of the world's best.
When he is given opportunities, he must impress, not by standing out and producing moments of individual brilliance, but by being solid at the back.
Once several performances are stringed together like this, Denayer's confidence will soar and he will be able to execute his creativity at the back with ease as he will be used to the quality of the opponents he is facing and the pace of the league.
He has shown that he can fit into a new team well in his successful season at Celtic, so when the 20-year-old achieves the above, then a starting berth should be his at City.
City's defensive woes can allow Denayer in
When City won the league in 2012, their central-defensive partnership of Kompany and Joleon Lescott was essential, as well as the added support of back-up Kolo Toure, as they conceded only 29 goals in 38 games.
The following year, they finished second, albeit with goal-scoring their main problem as they scored 17 less goals than eventual winners Manchester United, having scored four more than them the year before. They still conceded only 33 goals in the 2012-13 season with the same central-defensive partnership.
Manuel Pellegrini used a variety of duos in his first season in charge in the following campaign, with Kompany, Lescott, Martin Demichelis and Matija Nastasic all hitting double figures for appearances in the league, albeit Kompany and Demichelis were the preferred two as they won the league again.
Since then though, the constant rotation of players in the heart of defence has proved an issue for Pellegrini and City simply because their options are not good enough.
The error prone Demichelis has proved to be a huge weakness in the team, Kompany has seen his previously formidable form diminish due to recent injuries and Eliaquim Mangala has been hit and miss in his debut season in the Premier League, whilst Lescott was sold on in the summer of 2014.
Dedryck Boyata has now seen the same fate as the latter, the youth product joining Celtic on a permanent deal having failed to make an impact on City's first team, whereas Nastasic also moved on this season.
This leaves the position of centre-back as a huge weakness in City's team, and Denayer is more than capable of helping to solve the problem.
With experience at Celtic helping to mould his unquestionable talent into the shape of a composed and mature young defender, the Belgian is ready for the challenge presented by the Premier League.
He has already coped with the expectation of wearing Celtic's famous hooped shirt, and excelled in doing so with various team and individual honours coming his way this year, so he is sure to adapt well to the pressure faced by those who already wear the sky blue of City.
It's been a long time since a player has come out of Manchester City's youth academy and made a real impact on the club's first team, but Denayer is ready to do this, and at a perfect time as the team are currently crying out for a commanding, reliable presence in the heart of their defence.