Most Celtic fans, you'd imagine, made peace with the departure of Odsonne Edouard quite some time ago.
They've seen this plenty of times before.
Player arrives, player excels, rich clubs circle, player leaves but with the Parkhead coffers considerably compensated with not just cash but priceless memories for supporters to cherish.
Edouard has delivered on that front and but for Covid-19 turning the world upside down last year, he could easily have bid farewell already.
But through a combination of a changed transfer landscape and Celtic's 'one more year for 10 In A Row', he remains on the books in summer 2021.
The long-time prospect of a reunion with Brendan Rodgers appeared to accelerate at the tail end of last season and the sight of Edouard ambling off the pitch on the final day at Easter Road launched a barrage of 'so long, farewell' tweets.
Leicester, Rodgers and the Premier League looked the ideal option for the 23-year-old Frenchman but suddenly there's been a sting in the tail and the proposed transfer is off.
Amid claims of a "tax" imposed on dealings with the former Celtic boss, Edouard's ticket to England was seemingly torn up and tossed away in favour of RB Salzburg's Patson Daka.
That the forward is moving to the East Midlands for £23m begs the question just how heavy the alleged tariff was. Then there’s the sell-on fee Celtic are due to Paris Saint-Germain as part of the deal that took him to Scotland in the first place.
Record Sport revealed on Wednesday night that Leicester suspected Celtic would be difficult to deal with given this huge slice of the pie would be coming to Scotland – only to head straight back out the door to France.
The Premiership's top goalscorer last term has now reached a crossroads from which his next move is fascinatingly unclear.
One option has already been laid out before him by new manager Ange Postecoglou, who wants Les Espoirs striker to stay.
Of course he does.
It's not so long ago Edouard was being anointed as Celtic's best player since Henrik Larsson.
His form suffered during the club's living nightmare of a campaign in 2020/21 but he remains one of the most exciting young talents in Europe, so it's little surprise Postecoglou has launched his charm offensive early.
He'll know Leicester's interest in the forward was not exclusive and the transfer deadline remains a long way away.
Arsenal, Liverpool, West Ham, AC Milan and Juventus have all – to varying degrees – credited with an interest but Leicester was always the most concrete.
Sources close to the Emirates side believe sporting director Edu could be ready to firm up his interest even though just last week there was little indication any club was seriously rivalling Rodgers for his signature.
It's been reported Celtic valued Edouard as high as £50m last summer but a disappointing campaign and the impact of the pandemic – plus the forward being in the final year of his deal – means any hope of such a figure is surely gone.
But in knocking back £10m bids from Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle United for Kristoffer Ajer, Celtic have shown they are prepared to play hardball even with players for whom the contract clock is ticking.
Whatever they want for Ajer, it'll certainly be higher in Edouard's case and that could lead to a tense and protracted summer likely to involve liberal use of the word "saga".
It could well come down to how resolutely Celtic stick to their valuation, as clubs are unlikely to pay through the nose when armed with the knowledge they can simply wait until January to bypass Celtic and slap a pre-contract down in front of the player.
Rest assured someone inside Parkhead will have conducted a cost-benefit analysis on these scenarios and it feels unlikely their recommendation would champion the above scenario.
Celtic tried to extend his deal, perhaps to avoid this very scenario, but in a year where nothing has gone to plan this is just another tricky situation for the club to deal with.
The Daily Mail reported last week Edouard is prepared to run down his contract but in few spheres is the art of misdirection practiced as keenly as the transfer window.
It could be genuine intent on Edouard's part or a nudge from inside his camp given Celtic's apparent obstinance in selling him to Leicester.
Plonked in the middle is Postecoglou, who will want to know sooner rather than later if he can expect Edouard to be part of his squad for any considerable length of time.
The player was back training this week but, perhaps tellingly, Celtic haven't made a big deal of his return to Lennoxtown.
Allowing the situation to run and run suits neither club nor Edouard but so often in these scenarios that's what ends up happening.
In a summer of Celtic subplots this one could just emerge as the leading story.
