TWO years after bursting onto the scene as an exciting young teenager, Paul Gallagher has now reached a crossroads in his professional career.

Is he capable of fulfilling that early potential or is he destined to become one of professional football's nearly men?

That's the question now hanging over him as he starts what will hopefully be a productive spell on loan with Stoke City in the Championship.

When Gally first got his big break under Graeme Souness in 2003, he was like a breath of fresh air in the Blackburn first team and looked set to become a permanent fixture for years to come.

He was a precocious talent who had skill in abundance and he seemed to have that priceless knack of chipping in with important goals when the chips were down.

It wasn't long before he and Jon Stead had ousted Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke as Souness's first choice strike-pair and Gally's form in the Premiership was such that he got in to the full Scotland squad.

At that point, you could only see his career going from strength to strength as he seemed to have the football world at his feet.

But then, bizarrely, Gally's stock suddenly sank quicker than shares in British Airways as Souey bombed him out of the first team at the beginning of last season and his star has been on the wane ever since.

Mark Hughes clearly had reservations about Gallagher as he made just 20 appearances last season and that was in a campaign when Rovers struggled for goals up front.

That's why the Rovers boss has now taken the bold decision to send him out to Stoke on loan in the hope he can rediscover that form of two seasons ago.

Gally certainly has plenty to prove over the next nine months but in many ways his spell at the Britannia could turn out to be the making of him.

He's at that stage in his career where he needs regular first team football and he should get that under Johan Boskamp.

Then, if he scores some goals and performs consistently, his confidence should rise and he'll hopefully come back to Blackburn in better shape to challenge for a place in the first team.

I also think he'll benefit physically from playing in the Championship week in, week out because if Gally does have a weakness then it's a lack of physical strength.

When he did come on last season, he often looked lightweight but a season in the Championship should help to toughen him up.

Let's hope that's the case anyway because I'd love to see him make the grade at Rovers because there's nothing more satisfying than seeing a homegrown player doing well in the first team.

In the meantime, Sparky has moved quickly to replace Gally by signing David Bentley from Arsenal - another young forward who burst onto the Premiership scene a couple of years ago.

From the bits I saw of him during a similar loan spell with Norwich last season, he looked like a decent prospect and he could prove to be a decent acquisition over the coming months.

I assume he must come highly recommended by Eddie Niedzwiecki, who was manager of Arsenal's reserve side when David was first breaking through at Highbury, and if someone like Arsene Wenger rates you then you must have something going for you.

The England Under 21 international can play up front or as an attacking midfielder so let's hope he can bring that touch of quality we've been missing in the final third.