Stuart Holden says he would love to play European football just like fellow USA international Clint Dempsey.
The Bolton Wanderers midfielder is still on the road to recovery after a long absence because of knee injuries but has made no secret of his desire to push for the top and be involved in either the Champions League or Europa League like fellow Texan Dempsey has done with both Fulham and Tottenham in recent years.
However, the 27-year old is first concerned with simply getting back on the pitch after a very frustrating stage of his career.
"I want to do all that, but I'll take it one step at a time," he told Howler Magazine.
"Even my friends are like, 'When are you back playing? When will do you do this or that?' I don't care about any of that, I just want to play soccer.
"That's all I'm worried about. I have huge ambitions, but I'm a realist. I can dream all I want, but if I don't go back and play well at Bolton I'm not going to do anything. I just want to play and see where it takes me."
And Holden knows very well that he does not need to put the extra pressure of a return date on his comeback as that just complicates things.
"I've learned with this one not to put a target on myself," he added.
"Everything is good and going well, but I can't push it. My knee tells me how fast I can go. I don't like getting everyone else's hopes up, or my own. I don't want to say I'll be back in a month and find out in a month it'll be another month."
