Callum Hudson-Odoi’s roller-coaster season took another incredible twist when he was drafted into Gareth Southgate's England squad.
Hudson-Odoi had only just arrived at the Under-21s Somerset base at around 11am on Monday morning following his first Young Lions call-up when boss Aidy Boothroyd delivered the “thunderbolt” news that he was now needed by seniors.
The Chelsea starlet, 18, barely had time for an early lunch and to meet some of his new teammates before he had to jump in another car and head to St George's Park to link up with the main squad.
That journey completed a whirlwind 280-mile cross-country dash for delighted winger Hudson-Odoi.
His day began in London and finished with him being in contention for England's Euro 2020 qualifying double-header against Czech Republic and Montenegro.
Boothroyd said: “He just had his dinner and was gone. And he is getting billed for it!
“All the boys were meeting, mingling and getting to know each other again and then comes a thunderbolt and he is off.
“He is buzzing, as you can imagine. A big smile came across his face [when I told him]. It is good.”
Hudson-Odoi, an England U17s World Cup winner in 2017, earned his first U21s call up after forcing his way into the Chelsea team and shining in his limited game time.
He has played just 84 Premier League minutes this season and is yet to start a league game.
Thirteen of his 19 appearances – eight starts and five sub appearances - have come in cup competitions and the Community Shield, and he has scored five goals and set up four more.
His lack of action has left the youngster frustrated and German giants Bayern Munich tried to exploit the situation, making four January bids, the highest of £35million, but saw them all rejected by Chelsea.
Boothroyd hoped to run the rule over Hudson-Odoi in the Young Lions’ friendly double-header against Poland on Thursday and Germany next Tuesday.
But he will now have to wait until this summer's European Championship in Italy and San Marino to work with the exciting wide man.
Boothroyd said: “He is a phenomenal talent. I’m disappointed he’s not going to be here but I do have to say it’s great. Another one goes from us.
“It's great for him, great for the system. The fact that my opening meeting with them now is 'another one has gone, there has never been a better time to be an England player because the senior manager just keeps taking all the 21s' is brilliant because that's what the job is.
“I told him ‘I’ve got some good news and bad news for you… The good news is that you have been called up by the senior team, the bad news is that you have to come back to me in the summer’.
"We will definitely have him in the summer, touch wood.”
And Boothroyd backed Hudson-Odoi to take his stunning and rapid elevation in his stride.
He said: “It will not faze him one bit. He will be absolutely fine. He has shown he can handle anything.
“I really like him, his self confidence, the way he acts. He doesn’t lack any self-confidence, which I think is brilliant.
“He believes he should be at this level that he is playing at. He thinks he can get into the Champions League and that is a great place for a young player to be, to have that confidence.
“He has proved when he has been given the opportunities that he can do some things that other players can’t.
“He has got a really bright future ahead of him, wherever he decides to go!
“He is hungry, wants the caps, the medals – he wants to win.
“When he has been given the opportunities, he has shown what he can do and that is all you can do, really. If you do that often enough, you hope that he will get more regular football.”