What now for Ross Barkley?
The England midfielder's season-long loan to Aston Villa went under the radar as he appeared on the bench for Chelsea away to Tottenham Hotspur 12 hours before arriving in Birmingham but it represents a significant coup for Dean Smith's team.
It should be good for Barkley, too, considering he was never going to be a regular in Frank Lampard's midfield this season.
Whether he should have been given more opportunities is another question entirely.
The 26-year-old was solid and consistent towards the end of last season and offers a dynamism and flexibility that most teams, Villa clearly among them, would crave.
Yet his route into Frank Lampard's starting XI has grown increasingly obstructed.
The wider question for Chelsea is not about the talent in Lampard's squad. It is about the head coach finding the right balance, something he has struggled to do since taking charge but an even greater concern considering the transfer spend.
With so many options, there were always going to be players pushed to the fringes. Still, Barkley would be justified to feel like he could still have been an asset.
This time last year he played more for England than Chelsea in autumn. There were two off-field incidents that meant he was on the front rather than back of the tabloids but he worked his way back into Lampard's plans and before lockdown he looked like a guaranteed starter.
He remained important, if not first-choice, upon the resumption - a transformative introduction against Leicester in the FA Cup a midsummer standout.
His performance against Everton, from whom he joined Chelsea in a £15million deal in the winter of 2018, in the final game in March was outstanding. It was all-action, a threat going forward and an asset off the ball.
The problem was producing that level consistently, although he can also rightfully gripe about not having sufficent, sustained opportunities.
Barkley's career has reached a crossroads. The sign marked Villa seems a better direction than continuing down the Chelsea bottleneck.
His contract at Chelsea runs to the summer of 2023 and the loan to Villa does not include an option to buy but all the evidence suggests that he has little future at his parent club.
