COMMENT: Forget Fernando Torres and Edin Dzeko, the most popular name discussed inside Premier League boardrooms over the coming months will be Michael Chopra.
The Cardiff City striker's decision to explore turning out for India is a game changer for England's biggest clubs.
From Chelsea and Manchester United through to Blackburn Rovers and even Bury, English clubs have made serious attempts to crack the Indian sports market. Establishing academies, forming partnerships with local clubs, even launching club-themed merchandise stores and cafes, it's all been tried by English clubs in recent years.
But while such initiatives are a slow burn, Chopra's move to play in January's Asian Cup stands to shake-up the approach to monetising the Premier League's global appeal in India.
We've been waiting some time for Chopra to finally get serious about playing for the country of his family. If successful, the opportunities for the 26 year-old are endless - the next 12 months could catapult Chopra into the top tier of football's most marketable players.
A couple of goals for India in the Asian Cup and a victory over Australia or South Korea, could be just the start for the former Newcastle United and Sunderland striker. With Cardiff City looking good for promotion, Chopra stands to become the first Indian footballer to play in Europe's biggest leagues.
For India's massive Premier League fanbase, the most upwardly mobile on the planet, following and being able to relate to a fellow countryman in England's top-flight will be new, fresh and exciting. Just the sort of vibe that attracts major sponsors. If Chopra, on the back of a successful Asian Cup, can score some goals next season, his profile in his homeland will skyrocket.
No-one knows what a successful Indian player in the Premier League will mean in dollars and cents - there's plenty of educated guesses, but it's the new marketing frontier that everyone in football has been scrambling to get a piece of.
The endorsement deals for India's top-line crickets will continue to attract football's brightest marketing minds. MS Dhoni's US$42 million deal with Rhiti Sports this year is staggering and is no one-off with Sachin Tendulkar having penned a US$40 million agreement with Iconix four years ago.
Chopra's minders will not expect to reach those levels, but what he does do for English clubs is short circuit ten-year plans of grooming their own Indian prospects for global stardom.
After so many years of investment, all going to plan, Chopra will be the Premier League's first Indian star. The commercial potential is exciting, not only for Chopra and Cardiff, but everyone with some skin in the game.
This is a game changer. India isn't the final frontier for football, but it's one the game has struggled to crack for decades.
If successful, football will owe Chopra a debt of gratitude for giving them the key to unlocking one of the great economic riddles in the game.
