In September 2019, the future looked very bright for Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe.
That month, he was handed the captaincy by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for an EFL Cup tie against Rochdale ahead of established stars Paul Pogba, Phil Jones and Jesse Lingard.
And just four months earlier, the 21-year-old inspired loan side Aston Villa to the Premier League with victory against Derby in the Championship play-off final.
"Axel is a captain in the making, he’s a leader," said Solskjaer after United's win against Rochdale. "Why not give [the captaincy] to young kids?
"We know we can give it to Sergio [Romero] and we can give it to Paul, that’s no problem and they’ve been captains before.
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"But it was Axel today and how does he handle it? He was absolutely fine, he enjoyed it. It's just a way of telling him that we trust him."
Fast forward 27 months, though, and Tuanzebe's career has reached a crossroads.
The 24-year-old made just nine Premier League appearances for United last season and currently finds himself back on loan at Villa, struggling for game time.
Tuanzebe was a regular under previous Villa boss Dean Smith but has barely featured since his sacking, playing just eight minutes under new manager Steven Gerrard.
A change in management can often have such an impact. Gerrard is even willing to let him leave in January, although he would prefer him to stay in his ranks.
"It’s very much in Ax's hands and Man Utd's hands," Gerrard told reporters. "We want him here, we would be delighted to keep him.
"We don’t just see it as a loan until the end of the season. It’s something we want to explore further than that. We just hope we’ve got that opportunity.
"He’s a player we like very much and we’d like him to stay until the end of the season at least. Axel is his own man and will want to make his own decision.
"He is obviously owned by Man Utd which we all need to respect. I hope he wants to be part of this.
"In terms of what he has given on a daily basis, his leadership and training levels have been really strong and he is pushing to play."
It wasn't supposed to be this way, though. Tuanzebe was expected to be playing week in, week out at Villa... but he finds himself on the periphery again.
"The highly rated centre-back will use this loan as a vital opportunity to assert himself and make an impression," claimed United's website when the loan was confirmed in August.
With a loan termination looming, the question now is where does Tuanzebe's future lie? He has just 18 months remaining on his existing United deal.
If the defender does return to Old Trafford, Solskjaer's successor Rangnick must decide whether he's part of his plans.
The current United manager will start a two-year consultancy gig when his interim role comes to an end in the summer and will have a say on transfer business.
It could actually be the ideal chance for Tuanzebe, with Eric Bailly heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations and Raphael Varane suffering several injuries since his summer move.
But if the Villa loanee returns to his parent club and doesn't play between now and the summer, his time at United is likely to be over considering his current deal.
Tuanzebe was once a captain in making... but that is irrelevant today. The next six months - and Rangnick's vital opinion - will define his Old Trafford career.
