It's a year on since Richie Towell joined Brighton after a stellar season for Dundalk.
Not long after becoming eligible to play with opening of the January window, Towell started for Brighton in the FA Cup against Hull - a 1-0 defeat. It would be four months before he again saw action, coming on in the Championship playoff semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday.
A pre-season full of promise, one where Towell says he felt in peak condition, suffered a setback with a knee injury. It was November before he would again be available.
So far this season, he's made appearances for the club's U23 side in the Checkatrade Trophy - scoring in both games.
Competition for places in the Brighton starting team right now is hot. That's to be expected with a club which is top of the Championship. That competition is likely to increase even further with the rumoured loan acquistion of exiciting young Chelsea prospect Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
However, it appears Towell will get a chance to impress this weekend when Brighton face MK Dons in the FA Cup. Manager Chris Hughton told RTÉ in an interview that he expects the Dubliner to start the cup tie on Saturday.
Hughton also spoke about what has been a difficult time for Towell at the Amex.
It's been difficult for Richie, because of the competition that he has for places in his position.
We were looking forward to the pre-season, to giving him a lot of games in the position we want him to play in and he got injured and missed a fair chunk of that period, which set him back a little bit.
But he's been very much in and around it. At times he's been on the bench. Very much close to that first-team squad but just found it difficult to get the games that he would like.
Towell has also been linked with a move away from Brighton. According to Ipswich Town website TWTD.co.uk, Mick McCarthy is eyeing the player who he considered making a move for in 2014.
Given how positive Hughton still sounds about the player, a permanent move away from the club at the moment would appear unlikely.
In October, Hughton mentioned the possibility of Towell leaving the club on loan during the January window - he could certainly do with the game time. If Saturday's opportunity does not result in a breakthrough for him, a loan deal would appear highly possible.
