Six of the 11 Sheffield United players who started the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace came through Premier League academies.
While many of the Blades squad have made their name in the lower divisions, they began their careers at the top.
Yet for whatever reason it did not work out for them and they have had to take a slightly different route to prove themselves.
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson is on loan from Manchester United, but has never played a competitive match for his parent club.
At the back, Chris Basham was at Bolton Wanderers when they were a top flight side. John Egan came through at Sunderland in similar circumstances.
In midfield, John Lundstram was a youth player at Everton, while Oliver Norwood was with the Red Devils. Upfront, Callum Robinson started out at Aston Villa.
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Meanwhile, John Fleck was with the Rangers academy and Luke Freeman – who came off the bench – began at Arsenal.
However, none of them ever truly made it with their boyhood teams.
Why this may help Sheffield United in the Premier League
Danny Murphy explained on Match Of The Day 2 why these players having a point to prove will benefit the Blades this season.
Murphy was analysing the win over Palace – which was their first in the Premier League in 12 years after earning promotion. Lundstram scored the winning goal as the South Yorkshire team made it four points from their first two games.
“If you’ve been rejected – a knock back – you’ve got that extra bit of determination to come through,” said Murphy.
“This is a team that’s hungry.”
Manager Chris Wilder made a conscious effort to target Championship players this summer he believed had ambition and could make the step up.
Four of the new signings joined from teams in the second tier of English football. Between them they had made 22 just appearances in the top flight.
Clearly, having something to prove is a great motivational tool for Wilder to use.