Alfie Devine was just four when he started kicking a ball around Golborne Sports Centre in Wigan.
It was not long before he was noticed.
Devine was spotted by a Liverpool scout and despite his tender age, he was invited to a trial at the Academy.
“He was standing out,” one onlooker remembers. “He was supposed to be five or six to even train at Golborne but the coach said he was better than everyone else at four.”
Continuing to impress at Liverpool, Devine signed terms with the club at seven-years-old. There he began to tour Europe with the Premier League outfit, who he supports, and form friendships.
Sadly, it wasn’t to be at his boyhood club.
Following his release at 11, he took four months out of the game he loved and reflected on his time in the academy system.
“All of it was enjoyable, I enjoyed every minute of it,” Devine tells the ECHO in his first ever exclusive interview.
“When we were 10, 11, we started going on tours away and I really enjoyed them. We were all mates there and it was really enjoyable.
“At first when you are released it’s a bit upsetting.
“You have to go through not only the football side when you’re not at the club but you go into school and people ask what’s happened and have you been released.
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“You don’t want to keep telling everyone, yeah, I got released. It doesn’t feel nice.”
Four months after leaving Liverpool, Devine was handed a fresh opportunity.
Wigan Athletic were alerted to his availability - his release had come as a surprise - and instantly offered him a chance.
To say he has taken it would be an understatement of seismic proportion.
After switching from centre-forward to an all-action midfield role, Devine has already racked up quite the list of achievements in a career that has barely even started.
Fast-tracked into Wigan’s under-18s earlier this season after progress under Alex Gibson and Peter Murphy, he was then handed his under-23 debut just two months after his 15th birthday.
“It’s a lot, lot faster than under-16s and u-18s,” Alfie explains about the leap into senior football.
“You have to think a lot quicker and then it’s the physical aspect as well.
“You can’t really take four or five touches on the ball otherwise the ball will be gone so you need to be faster and faster with your feet as well.”
His development has not been overlooked on an international stage either.
Devine was an instrumental figure in Wigan under-15s’ triumphant Floodlit Cup victory last season as the Latics overcome Sunderland 5-0 in their regional final.
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The win was a surprise to some onlookers, but England scouts had been monitoring his progress throughout the competition and Devine was 15 when he made his Three Lions under-16 debut.
Humbly, he recognises that game - against Scotland - as the proudest moment of his career so far but the best, for most, was still to come.
Representing England in the SportChain Cup in December, Devine featured in a 5-0 rout of Japan as well as games against Mexico and host nation Spain.
A last-minute equaliser from the hosts eventually dumped England out of the competition but the midfielder had made his mark individually.
“Everyone was a bit gutted at the end, because we’d been knocked out, so the coach gave us a talk and then asked the captain and me to come outside,” Devine explains.
“I thought it would just be a trophy presentation and we had to collect something and then go back inside.
“When they said England, the captain went up and told me to sit back down. Then I had a feeling I’d won an award but I didn’t know what.
“Then the top goalscorer went, the best goalkeeper went, the fair play went and the only one left was player of the tournament.
“I was thinking this can’t be me. It was all in Spanish so I couldn’t understand anything so I was just stood there with my head down and then they said my name.
“I was like ‘What?’ I was surprised if I’m being honest.”
Devine, despite his surprise, was named player of the tournament while being one of the youngest players in the competition.
He admits spells with the national team have boosted his confidence. Naturally shy and softly spoken, he is now aiming to take part in the 2020 under-17 European Championships in Estonia.
It is easy to forget that school remains an important part of Devine’s life.
He misses one half-day a week to train at Wigan before catching up on his education in specially scheduled lessons afterwards.
Devine’s talent cannot be disputed but he remains a young man with a committed family background.
His father was a professional rugby player for St. Helens during the 1980s while his mother still tells him off if he swears on the pitch.
They watched as their son was whisked away to Spain by Wigan during the summer for an u-18 tournament at the age of 14.
But fast-tracking doesn’t come much quicker than when Devine was invited to train with Paul Cook’s first-team.
The Championship outfit, battling against relegation this season, called a handful of u-23 starlets to join their session while Devine was also given the nod.
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“Some of them were proper moaning!” the teenager says, laughing, as he recalls the session.
“I couldn’t say anything so I had to take the abuse but it was a good experience. They’re all really nice to me and they ask me how I am and stuff. I talk to all of them and get on with all of them.”
Devine has the perfect role-model at Wigan in the form of Joe Gelhardt, a striker who has already scored in the Championship and attracted reported interest from Liverpool.
It is understood Devine has suitors across Europe after a breakout season but for a 15-year-old, he has his feet planted firmly on the ground.
When asked about his own plans for the foreseeable future, he replied: “I’m just hoping I stay with the 18s until the end of the season and get more opportunities with the 23s.
“I want to carry on as I’m doing, if I’m being honest, and keep on trying to improve.
“I want to surround myself with the right people who can help me keen on improving.
“I’d like to make it into Wigan’s first-team at some point, however long that might take, and obviously I’d want to play first-team football when I’m older.
“I just want to keep on making it, step-by-step.”
Talent with an attitude to match. Liverpool’s loss could definitely be someone else's gain.
