It feels a long time ago that the Ruben Amorim era at Manchester United began with a bang at Portman Road.
Barley two minutes in and Marcus Rashford had scored for the Reds at Ipswich and prompted plenty to wonder whether he might prove the striker beneficiary in the central role in Amorim's set-up.
Within a matter of months, Rashford was on loan at Aston Villa and he has no future at United. The decision to cast him aside is ultimately one for Amorim and it will likely still provoke debate while United continue to struggle in front of goal.
His expected departure would also see the end of a two-decade association for Rashford at United, having first joined the club aged seven.
The Reds have almost always had young English talent in their side and more often than not those players are local lads who have come through the ranks at Old Trafford.
Sometimes the talent comes from further afield but a look down some of the greatest players in the club's rich history includes plenty schooled in the ways of United and born and raised in the city.
Yet just now that path is, if not empty, certainly sparse. United didn't have a single player in the last England squad and they don't have a representative in the England Under-21 squad currently competing in the European Championships.
And two prospective transfers this summer could see the prospective numbers drop further. United are keen to move Rashford on this summer. His fellow academy graduate Kobbie Mainoo could follow.
The midfielder was an England regular 12 months ago, playing in the European Championships having ended a breakthrough campaign at United with a goal in the FA Cup final win over Manchester City.
Kobbie Mainoo in conversation with Marcus Rashford during his first training session with the England first-team (Image: Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
But little over a year on, a combination of injury, form and Ruben Amorim's seeming uncertainty in knowing exactly where Mainoo should play, has led to him dropping down the pecking order.
United's need to sell players to fund a squad overhaul also places Mainoo at risk, given as an academy graduate he would represent pure profit for the football accountants. There is no certainty the midfielder is sold this summer, but neither is there a guarantee he remains. And the fact that contract talks have stalled on a new deal only muddies the waters further.
If Mainoo does depart, then United will not only lose a talented young footballer, they'll lose another part of their identity.
Rashford and Mainoo represent the pathway at United, from growing up in the city to growing into first team regulars. If both departed that baton would fall to Tyler Fredricson, who made his first senior appearances last season but is still in the early stages of his development.
Ayden Heaven, Harry Amass and Toby Collyer have all made the breakthrough into the first team as young English players but all arrived at United late on in their junior development.
Mason Mount, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are the senior English professionals at the club while Tom Heaton came through the United ranks before making his way in the game elsewhere prior to rejoining in the autumn of his career.
Part of United's make-up is the local boys done good. The Reds have plenty of promise in their academy and a recent trend for recruiting talented teenagers from at home and abroad shows that promoting and investing in youth remains a part of the modus operandi, but it's home where the heart is. United have to make sure they don't lose theirs.