Man Utd's Alejandro Garnacho has been on the radar of Italian giants Napoli for nearly a year, with the Serie A champions having their £38m bid for the Argentine winger rebuffed in January.
At that time, they were eyeing the 21-year-old as a replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgian sensation who had just made his move to Paris Saint-Germain and would go on to lift the Champions League trophy five months later.
Despite some concerns over Garnacho's attitude and social media activity, United chose to retain him, even after he was dropped from the starting line-up for the Manchester derby victory in December, which seemed to signal his impending departure.
However, Garnacho buckled down, became a key player in Ruben Amorim's squad and saw significant game time in the latter half of the season - until the final weeks. His omission from the Europa League final and subsequent reaction proved to be the last straw for Amorim, who informed Garnacho that he would need to find a new club this summer.
He is now among five players, including Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia, who have been instructed not to return for pre-season training as they explore options away from Old Trafford.
Among the group, Garnacho is the one who could fetch the highest price for United. As the youngest of the five, he has demonstrated his ability to perform at United and doesn't command a hefty £350k-a-week wage like Rashford.
Indeed, his deal is becoming increasingly crucial for the club's finances, as his sale would equate to pure profit. The current predicament, however, is that despite rampant speculation about potential buyers - including Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Napoli and Juventus - none have made a formal offer this summer.
In fact, they're exploring other options. Chelsea have recently signed Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund and £60m Brighton striker Joao Pedro, Juventus are keen on Jadon Sancho and have secured Jonathan David in forward positions. And now Napoli have reportedly reached an agreement with PSV Eindhoven for £24m star Noa Lang.
Consequently, it seems the opportunity for Garnacho to move to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium has been definitively shut.
United must continue their quest for a buyer willing to meet their terms. However, finding a European buyer for Garnacho this summer appears to be more challenging than initially anticipated.
And if the player had aspirations of becoming the next Scott McTominay, he might need to reconsider.