Nathaniel Phillips' story with Liverpool involves countless 'what-ifs' and, unsurprisingly, began with a huge one.
With a few different decisions, it's entirely conceivable the 24-year-old could be playing his football in Major League Soccer currently, or based in the world of work armed with a degree in economics.
That was Phillips' plan when his journey with Bolton Wanderers was coming to an end in 2016. He'd secured a four-year scholarship at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
The details had been completed on his National Letter of Intent, with the move even announced on the team's website.