Dundee United new boy Kudus Oyenuga has enjoyed the glamour of Tottenham and endured the grit of the Conference.
Now the 20-year-old frontman is ready to make the most of a switch to Scotland that he believes will redirect a career that had drifted somewhat off course.
Oyenuga got his first taste of life with his new club as he played the second half of the Tangerines’ 4-1 friendly defeat to Union Berlin in the German capital on Sunday.
It wasn’t the result he would have wanted, but that didn’t dampen Oyenuga’s enthusiasm for a move that, in his words, has left him “absolutely buzzing.”
Oyenuga, who penned a three-year deal last week before heading on United’s pre-season trip, said: “It was good to get a solid 45 minutes under my belt. Pre-season is all about getting your legs going again and I actually think it was a good first game for us despite the scoreline.
“They (Union) were well into their summer schedule and they were a very good, fit side. They kept the ball really well and their full-backs bombed on.
“It was a hard shift for us because of the possession they had, but you get that sometimes when you play foreign teams.
“We did give the ball away a few times, but as our pre-season schedule progresses we can work on those things.”
Wearing a beaming smile, Oyenuga explained just what it means to him to have been snapped up by Tannadice boss Jackie McNamara from the lower reaches of the English leagues along with defender Calum Butcher.
“I was at Spurs and then had a year in the Conference with Hayes and Yeading,” he said. “I scored 19 goals in 43 appearances and after that I had to leave because they couldn’t afford my wages.
“They cut their budget by 25% so me and Calum both went to play in a showcase game, set up by a football agency. It was for players who had been released or just looking for something else so we gave it a go.
“What then happened is that both Calum and I performed really well and the gaffer was there with (coach) Darren Jackson. The manager said he would take both of us and here we are in Germany with Dundee United.
“It was good to get spotted because there are a lot of good players still looking for something.
“I am delighted because a month and a half ago I was in the Conference and now here I am at a great team in Scotland. I know United are a massive club so I appreciate getting this move.
“I have been lucky but my philosophy is that if you work hard enough you will get luck.
“Leaving Spurs and going to the Conference was good as well because I was playing against men as a young player. I wouldn’t change anything.
“Calum and I are really good friends and I tell him all the time how lucky I feel to be a footballer. A lot of people have a nine-to-five jobs but it is a privilege for me to play for Dundee United.
“My task now is to try to get myself in the team and I am hungry to succeed.”
When Oyenuga swapped the good life of a Spurs youth player for the less salubrious surroundings of Hayes and Yeading, he admitted it took a bit of getting used to.
“When I was in the Conference it opened my eyes a bit and I was on a learning curve,” he admitted.
“At Spurs things were sugar-coated and you get nice facilities and training ground and things like massages and physios.
“In the Conference, I was taught to man up because you didn’t get those things.
“You had to look after yourself on and off the park. I am now absolutely buzzing to get the chance to play at United and to have the chance to show the gaffer that I am good enough to play at this level.
“I was in Scotland on loan at St Johnstone a year and a half ago and that was really good experience for me.
“I didn’t play that much but to be fair to myself I was only 18 so it was still good to be around first-team players and to train with the senior squad at St Johnstone.
“I enjoyed the experience. Jackie McNamara is also a totally different manager to Steve Lomas.
“However, I am a different player to what I was then. I am more of a man now.
“This is like a second chance for me but you see it all the time, players going down to the lower leagues but then coming back again at a good level.
“Football is often not about straight lines. You sometimes have to go down the way to go back up.”
United, having been based just a couple of miles from Union’s Stadion An der Alten Foresterei in central Berlin, moved to their training base just outside the city.
They will prepare there for the second of their pre-season friendlies, which is against Energie Cottbus near the border with Poland on Friday night.