Romelu Lukaku's imminent departure from Manchester United would end an experiment that promised so much but delivered so little for both parties.
Lukaku was left out of United's squad to face Kristiansund in Norway on Tuesday. Italian champions Juventus look to have stolen a march on Serie A rivals Inter Milan for the Belgian striker's signature. The latter value the former Chelsea and Everton player lower than the £75 million (Dh340m) United are looking to recoup on their investment, while Juve are attempting to sweeten the deal with reports that Paulo Dybala will be part of the overall package.
Argentina forward Dybala would seem a much more logical fit for the kind of football Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to play. The Norwegian serves as a constant reminder of United's halcyon days when they were synonymous with exciting and attacking football.
Lukaku's two-year stay in Manchester has been fairly unspectacular. Signed by Jose Mourinho, the Belgian striker has at best stood still and at worst gone backwards at Old Trafford.
Lukaku bagged 26 goals in his final season at Goodison Park in 2017 and bettered that mark by one in his first at United. That tally dropped last season to 15, with Lukaku relegated to a bit-part role behind the more athletic Marcus Rashford for the lone striker's role.
Lukaku's time at United has been pockmarked by constants throughout his career: goals but plenty of criticism. An inability to hold the ball up well enough for a man of his considerable size, link the midfield and attack and beat defenders has frustrated a succession of managers. His 12 Premier League goals last season came at a rate of one every 178 minutes.
His record against the top six last season makes for grim reading. In 635 minutes against Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Arsenal Lukaku scored none. In 2017/18 he scored only against Chelsea, in a losing effort. Strikes against Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Watford, Southampton, Fulham, Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace last term add to the idea that Lukaku is a just a flat-track bully.
Those numbers pale in comparison when judging Lukaku purely on international form. The 26 year old, who has missed most of United's pre-season matches through injury, has bagged himself 48 goals in 81 caps since making his international bow in 2010, 26 of those since he joined United.
A direct comparison with Dybala in terms of goals sees Lukaku win in all areas: Lukaku's 15 goals in 45 appearances came at a rate of one every 200 minutes last season compared to Dybala's one in 282 minutes. Lukaku reached double figures in the league despite losing his place as United limped home in sixth while Dybala managed only five as Juventus romped to an eighth successive Serie A title. The Argentine's 116 career goals are well sky of Lukaku's mark of 187.
But Lukaku's failings saw him lose his place to a younger, more technically-gifted player and that looks likely to be the case again should a deal to Juve go through and Dybala head in the opposite direction.
In many ways Dybala's situation mirrors that of Lukaku's. Both were plucked from lesser domestic rivals and charged with filling the considerable boots of more glorified predecessors. Lukaku lacks the silk of Ruud van Nistelrooy and the drive of Wayne Rooney, while Dybala has not lived up to the excellence of Roberto Baggio and Alessandro del Piero.
While Lukaku has expectations of being the main man in whichever team he lines up in, Dybala has rarely had any choice but to play the dutiful sidekick. He is not alone in living in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus, and his five goals in nine Uefa Champions League games, including a hat-trick against Swiss side Young Boys and the only strike in a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in October, point to a better pedigree than Lukaku in Europe. Lukaku scored twice as United overturned a two-goal deficit to defeat Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 and then hardly had a kick as United crashed out to Barcelona 4-0 on aggregate.
Dybala, 25, is cast as the best support act for club and country since joining from Palermo in 2015. Second fiddle to the greatest players of his generation – Ronaldo at Juve and Lionel Messi for Argentina – he could soon become the main man at Old Trafford. His ability to operate alongside or just behind one of Rashford or Anthony Martial in a false 9 role that already feels a better ideal of what a United attack should look like.
It should also give long-suffering United fans plenty of cause for optimism.
