It's now or never for Sammy Ameobi at Newcastle United. Manager Alan Pardew has stated it, and at 22, Ameobi does not need to be told that failure to make an impact this season will probably see him moved on to pastures new.
There are a clutch of Newcastle players who need to step up to the plate after such a poor start to the season but few more than Ameobi, the kid who burst on to the scene from the academy shortly after the club were relegated six years ago before working his way up the ranks.
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However, he is no longer a prospect or one for the future. The expectations are for him to start delivering on a regular basis what we've seen in glimpses. For those who don't know what Ameobi is all about -- he's the type of player who can woo the crowd with a trick, he can twist and turn and he can unleash a tremendous shot when he wants to.
At 6-foot-5, he is taller than Andy Carroll but he isn't bullying defenders the way he should be. If he doesn't start menacing defences any time soon, when is he ever going to? On paper he should be a defender's worst nightmare, only he hasn't handed Padrew a selection headache, and when Ameobi has had chances, he hasn't taken them.
Since making his Premier League debut three years ago under Pardew in a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, the Newcastle-born winger has not been the success his manager might have hoped for.
Make no doubt it, he has raw skill and good technical ability that should strike fear into most top-flight defenders, although that's only on his day. The former England U21 international may argue that he hasn't always been handed the chance to shine in front of the St James' Park faithful. During Newcastle's struggle in 2014, Pardew turned to the forward just five times as the Magpies capitulated in the Premier League.
There was talk of Ameobi quitting this summer, too, with Sheffield Wednesday interested in his signature, but nothing materialised.
Then there was a discussion about Ameobi being loaned out to the Championship again. He already had spent one stint at Middlesbrough, where the move started off in spectacular style with a goal against Cardiff City in a 2-1 win before he was moved back to Newcastle in disappointing fashion, and he found himself back in the reserve team pool.
Since then, it has been one step forward and two back, with a few sideways steps thrown in. The big progress that many hoped to see from the younger brother of Shola just hasn't happened.
At Swansea last time out, though, there appeared to be a glimmer of hope as Ameobi skipped down the right wing before putting in a near-perfect cross for Papiss Cisse to stab home.
This week Pardew said: "We've been waiting for that for a long, long time."
Ameobi's immediate challenge is to do something similar in the next game, against Leicester City, when the Premier League gets back under way after the international break. Given that Pardew turned to Ameobi ahead of summer signing Remy Cabella, you would think he owes his manager at least a bit of loyalty.
Then again, was it trust or was it desperation? Cabella hasn't delivered for the Magpies so far, but the time is now for Ameobi to take one of the last chances he will get. Shola Ameobi was the survivor at Newcastle. The club waited patiently for his talent to emerge and as the club hit a transitional stage after relegation in 2009, he suddenly found himself as one of the go-to men when it came to getting the club back on its feet.
The modern day Newcastle, with patience in shorter supply behind the scenes these days due to the pressure on the manager, means that Ameobi is now fighting for his career.