After his summer move, Kevin van Veen quickly gained the respect of Motherwell fans.
Scottish Premiership: Motherwell against Celtic Venue: Fir park, Motherwell Date: Saturday 16 November Kick-off at 15:00 BST. Live coverage: BBC Radio Scotland, live text coverage via BBC Sport app & website
You can see that Motherwell striker Kevin van Veen, or 'Budget Bergkamp,' is quickly climbing the list of Scottish football's unofficial heroes.
Are you a eccentric player? Check. Check. Check. What is your standout nickname? Check.
Add in the Dutchman’s part-time job as a plasterer and a failed move to the Chinese Super League for 4m, and you will soon run out of boxes.
The 30-year-old shares his story with BBC Scotland about his career, which has taken him from a difficult release at PSV Eindhoven to a quick start at Fir Park.
Part-time plastering & PSV heartbreak
Van Veen began his footballing career at PSV Eredivisie club, where he was not only playing for his dream club but also learning from Ruud van Nielrooy.
Former striker for Real Madrid and Manchester United, he proved to be a great mentor for the youth team's forwards.
Van Veen said, "I looked up to Ruud." He was very down to earth, and it was an honor to work with him. I gained so many valuable lessons. We all achieved so many goals together when he was with us.
His best piece of advice was to be always on the move. He would always remind us to keep the ball in the net, not in the top bin.
Things looked promising for Van Veen who was ahead of the likes Virgil van Dijk and Memphis Depay at Netherlands under-15 level.
PSV released him in his teens due to his lack of height. This was a crushing moment that he decided to give up on his dream of becoming a professional player and swap his boots for tools.
He recalls that his entire youth was spent at PSV. "So, when they finally told me to leave, my dreams were broken in half. I decided to play amateur with my friends.
"My father told me that I needed a job so I began plastering. I trained twice a week at night, and worked full-time. Sometimes, I finished at 19:00.
Van Veen excelled at amateur level, as scouts watched from the sidelines hoping to lure him back into the professional game.
Normal circumstances would make this an easy task. However, previous heartbreak over PSV and a passion to plaster made it difficult.
He says, "I didn’t want to be a professional." "I received so many inquiries, but I decided to decline because I wanted to have fun and work a regular job. Plastering was something I could not let go of even after I became a professional.
"But each year, I was making a leap up, scoring 20 goals per season and before I knew, I could sign for clubs across England, Azerbaijan, and the Bundesliga. I waited so long to make my decision and signed for Scunthorpe.
Kevin van Veen was a Scunthorpe resident in 2015, but he returned to England in the summer of 2015.
"4m... for you?"
After a spell in the Dutch lower leagues Van Veen moved to Scunthorpe in 2015. He played under Graham Alexander, the current Fir Park manager.
He was visiting Glanford Park when he earned the nickname 'Budget Bergkamp,' for his eye-catching displays.
The Dutch director of a Chinese Super League club noticed a strong start to the 2016-17 season. Scunthorpe, who reportedly had an external-link, refused to pay the proposed fee of 4m. They were pushing for promotion to Championship.
Van Veen states, "I wanted the wall to be punched." "4m...for me? That's enough to drive me anywhere! It was incredible money. Scunthorpe believed there was more, but I believe the Chinese club were offended.
"I would not say that there is bad blood between Scunthorpe chairman, and me, but I do wonder, 'what' if? "What if it worked out and they won it?"
"The fans wouldn’t let me go!"
Van Veen left his six-year-long stay south of the border at last season and moved north to reunite him with Alexander. He has "zero regrets" about this decision.
He has built a reputation for himself in just three months, and Fir Park fans were eager to welcome him off the bus as a king following last month's draw with Rangers.
He laughs, "Everyone had left my car park and I was there for at most another 15 minutes." They wouldn't let us go! My song was blasting in my ears, but that didn't bother me. They are always my priority.
"It is up to me to continue giving them something to look forward to and getting them out of their chairs. It's been a great start.
"But, as a group, we must keep pushing as hard and as much as possible. I believe we will have a great season if we do this.
