De Silva, now 21, has the stage in place for him to push and progress to the level he was meant to be reaching when he left Perth Glory for a European opportunity with Serie A side AS Roma in 2015.

In a period of sheer confusion, De Silva did not end up playing with Roma as Perth did not receive the first part of a reported $2.5 million dollar transfer fee. He subsequently went on loan to Roda JC in the Eredivisie for two years. He was given rare chances to impress and ultimately frozen out his deal was cut short by six months.

Now, De Silva finds himself in a Sydney FC side looking to retain its dominance in the A-League following the departure of Graham Arnold to the Socceroos. As the subject of the A-League’s first ever intra-league loan signing, De Silva has a full season ahead with a squad that is relentlessly hungry for success.

De Silva debut strike pleases Corica

In a Sydney FC squad complemented by the likes of Milos Ninkovic, Alex Brosque and new signing (and former Premier League striker) Adam Le Fondre, De Silva has the quality around him to finish the chances his Mariners teammates struggled to. His quick feet, creative nous and unpredictability will be facets current Sydney FC coach, Steve Corica, will be looking to maximise as he seeks to fill the gap left by the departure of marquee and Johnny Warren medallist Adrian Mierzejewski.

De Silva reminded the Australian football community of his quality in a recent FFA Cup Round of 32 tie against Rockdale City Suns as he sent a blistering volley past ex-Socceroos goalkeeper Ante Covic from the edge of the box. He further dazzled with his mazy runs and already established connection with the players around him.

Although it was a cup tie against lesser opposition, it represented an opportunity for De Silva and Sydney FC to further hone in on adopting to Corica’s tactical ethos.

If anything though, the goal and his performance is a stark reminder of what he is capable of, something the Sky Blues and A-League fans as a whole should undoubtedly get excited about.