Ole Gunnar Solskjaer previously suggested that the goalkeeping conundrum he faces on an everyday basis would not be sustainable in the long-term for Manchester United.
Only has that '50-50 choice' actually benefited the Old Trafford giants this season?
A decade as first-choice means David de Gea no longer owes anything to the red side of this footballing city.
Indeed, for a large part of that time, the Spaniard has been one of the stand-out performers for the club - even if another Premier League title has proved elusive since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Closer than ever to ending that hoodoo, certainly via early-season credentials, there is a slight sense of irony that this new-age United - with Solskjaer at the helm - has an old-school theme running through its core.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been a catalyst for that, no doubt, while Paul Pogba and De Gea also seem to have been as re-energised as the supporters themselves by that sensational re-signing.
Having emerged from the famed Old Trafford academy, meanwhile, via loan spells with Grimsby Town, Shrewsbury and Sheffield United in the Premier League, goalkeeper Dean Henderson appeared to have signalled a change in the guard between the posts at the end of last season.
Indeed, having displaced his long-serving Spanish teammate, the suggestion is Solskjaer was ready to keep faith in the England stopper at the start of this campaign, too.
As it has done across the football world and wider society though, the devastating Covid-19 pandemic intervened there, as well, leaving Henderson needing to catch up on his fitness as he prepares for his first outing of this season against West Ham in the Carabao Cup tonight (7.45pm).
In his absence, De Gea has cut a rejuvenated figure - just when his days at United appeared to be numbered.
Casting back to Solskjaer's comments on the goalkeeping situation, what had been deemed as 'unsustainable' is at the forefront of another potential U-turn in that regard.
Henderson was made to work and work harder for his first chance to leapfrog De Gea and he might just have to go through that all again.
An eye-catching show against the Hammers will help, of course, but his Spanish stop-stopping contemporary has really laid down a marker during the early part of this term.
Ronaldo and his grand return will hamper Edinson Cavani - and others - in their quest for regular game-time.
It will no doubt raise his performance levels, too, as and when the experienced Uruguay striker is called upon.
Who should be 'number one' for United? Let us know in the comments section below.
Alas, in other such positions, competition for places is deemed to cause a welcome headache; although that's not usually the case when there are two candidates for the number one jersey.
Naturally, in the longer-term, it's a question which will need a definitive answer - but De Gea has ultimately proved that he is up for the fight, something which is undoubtedly part of Henderson's DNA, too.
Both know what they need to do, while United stand to benefit from that intriguing battle for the gloves.
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