Andy Pengelly scored 52 goals for Brisbane Strikers this season and if such form is replicated in Southeast Asia for Home United then perhaps coaches in Australia will rue letting the 22 year-old slip through their fingers.
On the other hand, Aurelio Vidmar will be beaming from ear to ear. Vidmar is the new coach at Home United, back in Asia for what should be his biggest challenge yet.
The Protectors may have finished in the bottom half of the SPL in 2019 but a title challenge - at least - is expected in 2020.
Pengelly will be key. The 22-year-old has been sensational for Brisbane yet never got picked up by a top tier team down under.
If the goals keep coming in the Little Red Dot then it will, among other things, be great for Australian football.
If the NPL is seen as a source of talent by overseas teams then more career pathways suddenly open up.
The money won’t be astronomical. Singapore may be the richest country in southeast Asia but in football terms, does not splash the cash.
The average squad player earns not much more than $3,000 a month and they look across the Causeway at Malaysia, where salaries are considerably higher, with envy.
But the experience should be priceless. The SPL is not the best league in SE Asia but it is far from the worst and working with an Aussie coach may help this cold-eyed finisher add a little extra to his all-round game. If so, bigger and better things may await in the future.
Coach Vidmar has plenty of Asian experience to pass on though, and will surely appreciate the Aussie corner of the dressing room that already contains Isaka Cernak, who has played for six A-League teams, and Oliver Puflett, formerly of Western Sydney Wanderers.
Combining the Aussie spirit of 2008 when Vidmar led Adelaide United to the final of the AFC Champions League with a solid Singaporean spine could be a winning combination.
Also useful, if less happy, for the former Australia skipper is the experience in Thailand with Bangkok Glass. Vidmar left in July 2017 after just under a year.
This team, in the north of the capital, was ambitious (in more ways than one - even trying to sign handsome players in a bid to attract female fans who would then bring more male supporters to their three-sided stadium) and went through coaches fairly rapidly as it sought to become a Thai powerhouse.
The 52 year-old left with the Rabbits in fifth. The following season they were relegated.
Even if there was relegation in Singapore, it would not usually be on the mind of Home United. Since winning a first of two league titles in 1999, they have never finished lower than sixth, which was also last season’s position. While disappointing, it was understandable given the background of instability.
Indonesian coach Saswadimati Dasuki left by ‘mutual consent’ in April to be replaced by caretaker Noh Rahman.
After eight games, former Singapore national team coach (and Notts County goalkeeper) Radojko Avramovic came in. Unfortunately, ‘Raddy’ had to return to Serbia to fight cancer and Noh returned to see out the season.
Being the fourth occupant in the dugout in the space of 12 months may not be as bad as it sounds but after the signings made, Home want a major improvement on sixth.
According to reports, United have signed Singapore’s goalkeeper Hassan Sunny, one of the best, if not the best, number one in Southeast Asia.
International teammates, the experienced midfielder Shahdan Sulaiman and winger Gabriel Quak are also on board.
It also looks like Kaishu Yamazaki, who was nominated for the Young Player of the Year award after exploits with Albirex Niigata is on his way.
If Vidmar can get these firing and Pengelly scoring, then there will be another exciting Asian adventure for Australia to follow.
