Jobe Bellingham will line up for Sunderland against Newcastle in the FA Cup third round but he could have been on the opposite side.
The two sides play out the first Tyne-Wear derby since 2016 at Saturday lunchtime in what could well be a cauldron at the Stadium of Light.
The last encounter was a 1-1 draw in the league, with the teams not playing in the same division since then.
Sunderland are unbeaten in their last nine games against Newcastle and they'll need Bellingham, younger brother of Real Madrid sensation Jude, on top form.
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Like Jude, Jobe came through the ranks at Birmingham and made his debut as a 16-year-old.
He made the switch to Sunderland for a fee of £1.5 million in the summer as a 17-year-old and has scored four times in 26 appearances from midfield.
And ahead of what could be the biggest game of his career, it's emerged that Newcastle were in for Bellingham in the summer.
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The Daily Mail say that talks were held with Bellingham's family over a permanent transfer.
However, Newcastle's plan was to integrate Bellingham into their under-age ranks.
Bellingham wanted first-team football and so chose Sunderland, who had invited his family to games in a bid to convince him to join.
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Sunderland's sporting director Kristjaan Speakman knows Bellingham from when he was academy manager at Birmingham.
Newcastle remain admirers of Bellingham and are believed to still be watching him in action this season.
They will get an even closer look at him when he comes up against Eddie Howe's side in a huge clash.
As soon as the draw was made, the England youth international could not hide his excitement.
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“We couldn’t believe it when the draw happened,” he told Sky Sports.
“We were all as buzzing as you can imagine. Hopefully we can bring some pride to the fans.”
Topics: Jude Bellingham, Sunderland, Newcastle United, FA Cup
Josh Lawless