Newcastle United will finally part company with Henri Saivet on July 1 after a frustrating five years for both the player and the Magpies.
However, by the time he picks up his final pay packet in August he is believed to have cost the club close to £12million overall.
Saivet arrived at United after being tipped to help save Newcastle from a relegation fight back in 2016 after he agreed a £5.4million move from Bordeaux.
Back then Saivet beamed: "I am really proud to be able to play for this club and I am really excited at the challenge that lies ahead.
"St James’ Park is a really impressive and special stadium.
"In France, there is nothing that compares to this and I can’t wait to get out there and help the team climb the table."
But after being selected by then chief scout Graham Carr as a top Ligue 1 player, Saivet featured just four times for Steve McClaren's side before the ex-England boss was fired.
McClaren's replacement, Rafa Benitez did not feel Saivet was going to benefit his squad and loaned him to St Etienne for the 2016/17 season.
The move at least trimmed some of the wage bill as St Etienne took on some of his weekly wage bill, rumoured to be around £32,000 per week.
Benitez hoped to strike a permanent deal with St Etienne after Saivet played 35 times for the French club but they could not agree a fee with the Newcastle hierarchy despite a plea from the Spaniard to clear him off the wage bill at any cost.
Yet Saivet had no choice but to return to Newcastle in summer 2017 and while he was told to train with the Under-23s, he maintained a positive attitude and with no willing buyers found himself back in Benitez's squad for the club's return to the Premier League.
Benitez always felt that Saivet was a good trainer and was actually one of the fittest players in his squad, but he could not find a spot for him in his opening XI.
The Senegal international played his first game in 18 months against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup at St James' Park in August 2017 and Benitez was going to use him in the competition had United stayed in it, but an extra time 3-2 defeat complicated matters further.
By the time Saivet got another chance in a black and white shirt it was almost Christmas in 2017, away to West Ham.
And he took just 10 minutes to make an impact with a wonderful free-kick that set up a 3-2 victory in the Premier League.
Further appearances in the FA Cup against Luton Town and Chelsea suggested that there could be a pathway for Saivet.
The January window, however, resulted in a loan switch to Sivasspor in Turkey for Saivet and he made 12 appearances for the club.
Benitez tried once again in the summer of 2018 to sell Saivet, loaning him to Bursaspor in Turkey again, and trying to entice them to agree to a permanent deal at the end of his loan.
But while the Turkish side's contribution to his wages helped ease what was becoming an expensive signing from Carr back in 2016, they wouldn't sign him up permanently.
They did at least pay a loan fee of around £800,000 but the midfielder's time on Newcastle's books still wasn't up when he returned after 29 appearances and two goals for the team nicknamed the Green Crocodiles.
Saivet remained on Newcastle's books for the 2019/20 and even appeared in the team photograph but was a non-playing squad member who didn't make the 25-man roster in the Premier League.
And this season has been a similar story with Saivet unable to find a club or even agree on a pay-off like former team-mates such as Ki or Achraf Lazaar who ended their contracts earlier than expiry.
Instead, Saivet simply trained with the Under-23s and even made four appearances for the reserves in Premier League 2, even playing at centre-back.
His contract expires on July 1, but he will pick up one more monthly salary from Newcastle.
After earning around £1.5million per year since 2016, it has been a costly business for a player who appeared just eight times for the Magpies.
