Lisandro Martinez has an unclear future at Manchester United.
Consider his maiden season in England up until an inimical leg injury in April 2023, and you'd be talking about one of the club's best signings of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
But weigh up Martinez's fortunes since his highly-anticipated comeback, and he'd be spoken of as another expensive flop.
He hasn't reached his embryonic levels at Old Trafford since overcoming the injurious woes sparked in that 2-2 collapse against Sevilla 20 months ago.
Martinez has started all three games for which he's been available under Ruben Amorim. He missed his debut outing at Ipswich Town due to an injury and was suspended for the trip to Arsenal.
Erik ten Hag brought the tenacious Argentine to United from Ajax in a £57million deal in 2022, then the second most expensive defensive signing in the club's history.
Still, in theory, Martinez should be a perfect fit for Amorim's three-at-the-back system. Left-footed, a comfortable progressor of the ball, and a leader on and off the pitch.
Aged 26, his prime years are still to come, and the player who was on show at the start of his United career was worth every penny.
Martinez's showing against Nottingham Forest was alarming, though. And, in truth, it's not the first time this season supporters have left Old Trafford bewailing about their No. 6.
The 5ft 9in centre-back was dominated in the air by Nikola Milenkovic for the visitors' early opener, which set the tone for a disappointing evening in M16.
He was later rooted to the spot for Chris Wood's looping header, a third Forest goal that took the game out of United's reach.
Leny Yoro started his first game after earning his first minutes at Arsenal days earlier. The £59m talent will be a shoo-in come May.
Meanwhile, Matthijs de Ligt has quickly established himself as Amorim's central defensive general and should be a long-term fixture.
Noussair Mazraoui dropped to the bench against Forest, and his absence was noticeable. He has been one of the signings of the summer since his £17m switch from Bayern Munich.
With Amad glistening as Amorim's right-wing-back and Diogo Dalot currently stationed on the left, Mazraoui is expected to continue operating as one of the wide centre-halves.
Amorim has made no secret of how highly he rates the Moroccan, explaining earlier this month: "He's a top player.
"He understands the game. He knows how to attack, he's very technical, he's very good defensively, and he's very good one-on-one. He's a modern player. I think he's the future of our team.
"When you think about him, you think we need more players like Nous who can control the tempo; they are really, really good and comfortable with the ball. So, Nous, I'm really happy with him."
It doesn't sound like he's speaking about a player he plans to use sporadically, does it?
And if Martinez struggles to rediscover his finest form, it seems probable that he will be the one to lose his place rather than Yoro or De Ligt.