Joao Cancelo joined Manchester City two years ago, but he arrived this season.
The Blues signed Cancelo for £60m in 2019 from Juventus, but the right-back failed to deliver on his promise last campaign, making just 17 appearances in the Premier League, failing to justify the substantial fee that City paid to secure his services.
His renaissance this term has been outstanding, though, and Cancelo has finally arrived, developing into the £60m rated player City thought they were signing, his performances in the first half of the season making him one of Pep Guardiola's most trusted players.
However, in recent months Cancelo's form has gradually deteriorated and he's consequently fallen out of favour with Guardiola, the Catalan preferring to use Kyle Walker in City's biggest games, including against PSG in the Champions League semi-final.
To Walker's credit, he's since seized that opportunity and his displays have made it hard for Cancelo to regain his place in the starting XI, but crucially Cancelo failed to send Guardiola a reminder of his talent when presented with a chance to impress on Saturday.
Rather surprisingly - or not considering the City boss' love for squad rotation - Cancelo started against Chelsea in the Premier League at the weekend, but he failed to rediscover his form, looking short of confidence on the pitch.
Cancelo was punished by Timo Werner in City's defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final and he was exposed again on Saturday, while also being wasteful in possession and losing his man, Marcos Alonso, in the dying embers, which condemned City to defeat.
But what is the reason for Cancelo's fall from grace? It's hard to know.
The inverted full-back role brought the best out of Cancelo earlier in the season and he played it brilliantly, regularly inflicting havoc on the opposition with his roaming runs forward, allowing City to overload in midfield and dominate proceedings in matches.
Such was the standard of his performances, at one stage it looked like Cancelo could be the natural heir to Fernandinho 's defensive midfield position, but based on recent displays that sentiment now seems foolish and unrealistic.
Whether the opposition have simply adapted to Cancelo playing the inverted full-back role which has nullified its effectiveness is debatable, but it's true that he always looks a better player when City use that approach, as opposed to the traditional right-back role.
When this remarkable season is finished, Guardiola will take his holiday, reflect on this team's incredible achievements and recharge before galvanising the players to defend their Premier League title - they've done it before and know what it takes.
In Guardiola's analysis, he'll surely assess just what happened to Cancelo towards the end of the campaign, and he'll already know that one of his biggest challenges next term is to coax him back to his best, back to the £60m rated player that City signed.
