As Bruno Fernandes celebrates 12 months as a Manchester United player, the former Sporting Lisbon star can take pride in having had a transformative effect on the Red Devils.
His impact was instant from the moment he arrived on January 29, 2020, and he remains the team's shining light as they make an unlikely push for the title.
Fernandes' debut came against Wolves on February 1 in what was a goalless draw, but it didn't take long for him to fire.
His first goal, from the penalty spot, came against Watford in his third league game for the club.
Several more followed while telling Pep Guardiola to pipe down in the Manchester derby truly endeared him to the United fans - who, unfortunately due to the coronavirus pandemic, have still only seen him four times in the flesh on home soil.
The Portuguese's goals, assists and commitment to driving standards at Old Trafford have been crucial in the development of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side.
Individual accolades have been plentiful, most notably scooping United's Players' Player of the Year award last season and four Premier League Player of the Month awards in 2020.
How differently things may have been had the Portugal international never arrived in Manchester - as was almost the case.
United were interested in the midfielder 18 months ago, in the summer of 2019, but opted against making a move.
Not only that, but they seemed content to let rivals Tottenham push for his transfer and bring him to England in North London instead.
At that point they were desperate to get the Harry Maguire deal over the line, haggling with Leicester over his £80million fee.
At that time, Fernandes hadn't done enough in the club's eyes to warrant the kind of big-money fee that Sporting were keen to land.
Even after the window slammed shut and Fernandes continued to star in his homeland, United returning in the New Year was by no means a formality.
Solskjaer had overseen a mixed start to the season and his side were meandering around the Europa League places at the turn of the year.
In need of an injection United weighed up their options.
Jack Grealish was heavily linked with the club, having scored at Old Trafford for Aston Villa in December.
But he was determined to keep his boyhood club in the Premier League and rejected any advances, as first reported by James Nursey.
The Englishman was understood to be Solskjaer's first choice target, while Kai Havertz was also monitored - ultimately joining Chelsea in the summer - and James Maddison too, but there was no chance of getting him out of Leicester mid-season.
But throughout, the club's scouting department kept pushing Fernandes, insisting he had kicked on and taken his game to a higher level in the first half of 2019-20.
Ultimately, after much back and forth with Sporting, his 15 goals in 28 games in Portugal, having scored 33 the year before that, was enough to convince United to part with a potential £67million.
Six months after a move to Spurs had stalled and fallen through - they ultimately snapped up Giovani Lo Celso - Fernandes signed a few days before the close of the January window.
Usually any player joining that late in the market is something of a last minute call, maybe a panic buy.
Certainly, it suits the narrative given that United's last game before his arrival being a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Burnley; Solskjaer had seen his side jeered off and claimed it "wasn't good enough". A solution was needed.
Had the Norwegian been completely convinced of Fernandes' quality, then you would expect a deal to have been sorted to go through on January 1 - ala Liverpool landing Virgil van Dijk in 2018.
Other successful mid-season signings have that sense of decisiveness about them that Fernandes didn't.
Former United captain Gary Neville himself was not expecting fireworks.
"I've not got huge expectations of Bruno Fernandes in terms of this next few months," Neville told Sky Sports. "I think it'll take him a little time in England to settle in. He'll need some time."
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, of course, but Neville couldn't have been more wrong.
United hadn't signed a forward thinking midfielder for big money since spending a club record fee on Paul Pogba. Other recruits arriving with big expectations had failed to deliver.
With so many questions over how Fernandes would fit and what he may bring, Ian Wright was fearful of him looking "ordinary".
He said: "You look at those stats and it's the same as Paul Pogba, he needs something in front of him and somebody to run onto things.
"If they are going to keep playing like that, he is going to slip into that ordinary category as well."
In no time though United were thrilled to have him as they didn't lose a league game for the remainder of the season - finishing third - while also reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup and Europa League.
There's been no slowing down this season, and even after United's poor opening month and their Champions League failure, he has been the talisman, the difference-maker who has helped United power into the heart of the Premier League title fight.
Since arriving in English football the numbers speak for themselves.
He has 28 goals in all competitions since making his debut - more than any one Premier League player in that time. Fernandes has also added 17 assists giving him 45 goal involvements - also a high for a Premier League player since his arrival.
So, ordinary? He's proved anything but.
He may not have been the first-choice Solskjaer wanted. But he has certainly proved to be exactly what was required and certainly one of the Premier League's most influential signings in recent years.
