Billy Gilmour revealed two managers changed 'how he saw football' to help forget his difficult Chelsea stint.
The Scotland international has taken an interesting career route to Napoli, where he is playing a key role in a Serie A title charge this season.
A strong emergence at Chelsea was followed by a loan at Norwich City and permanent move to Brighton and Hove Albion before Italy came calling.
The 23-year-old's latest standout moment was a deft assist for Romelu Lukaku, who netted the second goal in a 2-1 win over AC Milan.
Conte has said the former Rangers youth player will play a bigger role as the season reaches its climax.
As a teenager, Gilmour’s performances for the youth teams of Rangers and the Scottish national side attracted the interest of not only from Premier League giants, but Barcelona as well.
Speaking to the The Athletic, Gilmour said: "When I was younger, my main aim was to play in the Premier League.
"That was my first dream. But I was always told that my style of play would suit playing abroad.”
He struggled to establish himself at Stamford Bridge, spending a season on loan at Norwich before a permanent move to Brighton and Hove Albion in 2022.
“It showed me the other side of football, it put me on the right path," he explained.
“Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi changed how I played, how I saw football.
“At Chelsea, I was always in and out, not finishing games. In my first season at Brighton, I was doing the same.
"But in that second one, because we were in Europe as well, I was playing lots of games, I was fit and confident. I was at my very best.”
Gilmour and fellow Scotsman, Scott McTominay, live close to each other, share the services of the same a private chef and sit next to each other at mealtimes and in the dressing room.
Gilmour has needed to be a little more patient than he might have liked to join the ever-growing list of Scottish regulars in Serie A.
“I want to play as much as possible, obviously,” Gilmour said. “But we have a great squad, with really good players. We have a manager who understands when players are hurt, or when they need resting.
"We train hard and we work hard. The senior players, (Giovanni) Di Lorenzo, Politano, Leonardo Spinazzola: they make sure the standards are high, all of the time. They don’t let you drop. That is good for me.”