Gylfi Sigurdsson comes up against former club Tottenham on Sunday with his Swansea manager Garry Monk insisting the Iceland international has what it takes to reach the top of the game.
Monk made Sigurdsson one of his main transfer targets when his job description changed from caretaker to permanent manager in May after being impressed by the 25-year-old's loan spell at Swansea in 2012.
Sigurdsson struggled to make an impact in his two years at Tottenham, making more league appearances from the bench than he actually started, but Monk's faith in his former team-mate's talent never wavered.
And that conviction has been repaid this season as Sigurdsson has scored twice with eight assists -- the second highest total in the Premier League behind Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas -- to take Swansea into the top eight.
"Gylfi didn't have as much game-time at Spurs as he wanted and you could see a little frustration in him," Monk said ahead of Tottenham's league visit to the Liberty Stadium.
"Once we knew he might be available we pursued that as strongly as possible because we knew what type of player we would be getting.
"He has come back a better player than before, he's at a good age and hopefully he will get even better."
Sigurdsson's development has not only come at club level as he has been instrumental in helping Iceland into a strong position in their Euro 2016 qualifying group, where they currently lead the likes of the Netherlands and Turkey.
The Swansea man has already scored four goals in Euro qualifying, including a brace in a 2-0 victory over the Dutch in October, and Monk sees no reason why he cannot reach the upper echelons of the game.
But he insists that being settled at Swansea right now suits Sigurdsson and his ability to influence games from his position behind the main striker, as opposed to his time at Tottenham when he was often shunted out on the left flank.
"He can go as high in the game as he wants," Monk said. "The number one thing is his hard work, it's incredible what he puts in every single day and his quality comes on top of that.
"He's at a period in his career where he needs to settle, be here a while, enjoy his football and be more consistent.
"Then it will be a decision for him if he keeps getting better over a long period that he may get another chance to go to a bigger club."
Monk admits he took a risk in pushing through a summer swap deal which saw Sigurdsson exchanged for goalkeeper Michel Vorm and defender Ben Davies, two players who had been popular among Swansea supporters.
Neath-born Davies was a product of the club's academy and a symbol of the club's close relationship with its roots, but the lure of an attacking player like Sigurdsson was too great for the rookie manager to resist.
"I felt getting Gylfi and the attacking part of it outweighed what we would be losing," Monk said. "But I hope Ben and Michel get a good reception because they both played vital parts in our first few seasons in the Premier League.
"It was difficult with Ben because he was home-grown, he had come through the system and it is good for the fans to see those players emerging.
"I have been amazed at Ben's development in such a short space of time because I remember him as a kid playing in the reserves.
"I'll be 100 percent honest, I didn't think much of him and I never thought he'd be as good as he is now. But he took on so quickly and at such a young age and in all my years I hadn't seen that happen before.
"His consistency was amazing but to do it at the top level without having experienced any league football was unbelievable.
"It just shows what a talent he is and I'm sure he will make it at Tottenham and go on to even bigger things after that."