SINGAPORE -- As far a new signing having an immediate impact goes, Trent Buhagiar has wasted no time in making his mark at BG Tampines Rovers.
After two goals on debut in Tampines' shock 4-1 win over Singapore Premier League champions Lion City Sailors in the Community Shield, Buhagiar now has six to his name from his team's opening ten matches of the 2025-26 season.
Curiously, the 27-year-old is yet to get off the mark in the league but has instead saved his best for the bigger occasions.
With three goals from victories over Kaya FC-Iloilo and BG Pathum United, Buhagiar is currently the joint-second highest scorer in the AFC Champions League Two -- a tournament which the Stags have remarkably made a perfect start in and already look firmly on course for the round of 16.
They made a real statement last week in racking up a third consecutive win on the continental front -- this time over South Korean giants Pohang Steelers -- and Buhagiar was once again a key contributor down the wing.
Buhagiar was always expected to have an impact for Tampines given the credentials he arrived with -- a seasoned A-League campaigner that had most recently gained European experience in Italy and Azerbaijan, as well as being a former Australia U23 representative who has since gone on to become a full Malta international.
But the reason behind him wasting no time in living up to those expectations? A fairly simple one, especially given the tribulations he faced while striving for success in Europe.
"I'm really enjoying my time here in Singapore," Buhagiar told ESPN, following last Thursday's victory over Pohang -- where he crossed paths with a former Australia U23 teammate in Jonathan Aspropotamitis.
"I'm playing football again, which I wasn't really doing last season, and found my love again for football.
"If you're enjoying your football, I think you just do good things on the pitch. So I'm enjoying my life outside of football and performing on the pitch as well."
Tampines' impressive displays in the ACL Two have certainly given Buhagiar plenty to smile about.
Nonetheless, it is not the only competition that the Stags, who are one of their country's most-successful clubs with five league titles and four Singapore Cups to their names, will be looking to do well in.
Tampines have a win and a loss from their opening two matches in the ASEAN Club Championship and remain firmly in the hunt for a semifinal berth, while they are expected to once again be the likeliest challengers to defending champions Sailors in the SPL -- although they currently sit in third and seven points off the pace with a game in hand.
Buhagiar admits their displays on the domestic stage have not exactly matched up to their continental exploits, adding: "We want to do well in each competition we're in.
"We're doing well in the Champions League, we want to do well in the Shopee Cup [ASEAN Club Championship] and we need to turn our form around in the Singapore Premier League.
"Our focus is to do as best as we can in each competition and we want to win as much as we can this season.
"We've already got silverware in the Community Shield against Lion City, so we've obviously had a good start to the season and we're looking to continue that for the rest of the season."
Following last week's triumph over Pohang, Tampines did get a much-needed win in the league at the weekend as they grinded to beat Hougang United 2-1.
They now have over an entire to prepare for the return encounter with the Steelers in Pohang and, while the Stags may once again head into that clash as underdogs, Buhagiar believes their performances have proven they have every chance of pulling off another upset and taking another step closer to ACL Two knockout round.
"We've shown in our games that we're really resilient," said Buhagiar.
"We have three wins from three games so that shows a lot as Tampines and what we're trying to build in this Champions League group. We're looking to continue that throughout the rest of the group stage.
"Obviously, we know we need to win at least one more game. We go to Pohang and we'll be looking to get another result there.
"Our goal from the start of the Champions League was to make it out of the group stage and into the round of 16. Now we've got the [first few] performances in and hopefully we get out of the group."