Alejandro Garnacho might have looked at the chaos engulfing Manchester United last season and wondered whether the Old Trafford madhouse really was the best place to hone his prodigious gifts.
A series of electrifying performances in the FA Youth Cup announced his potential last season and by the end of the campaign he'd made his first-team debut and been called up to the Argentina squad. Training with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi by the time you're 17 is normally an indication of a generational talent.
United beat Borussia Dortmund to sign the winger from Atletico Madrid in 2020 and the transfer fee of £420,000 is looking more like a steal with every passing performance. Garnacho's decision to move to the Premier League and ignore interest from the Bundesliga bucked the trend of players who see the path to the first team being much clearer in Germany, especially at Dortmund, who can point to Jadon Sancho, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham as examples.
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Garnacho's star was so bright that he managed to shine in a season of disruption and disharmony at Old Trafford, however. United's worst-ever Premier League season was hardly conducive to the development of young players but by the end of it the winger was training with the first-team squad.
But with standards slumping on the pitch and the disastrous interim spell of Ralf Rangnick following the end of the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era, Garnacho might well have been wondering whether this was the best place for his development after all.
United could be relatively relaxed, with Garnacho signing a contract until 2024 and the club having the option of an extra year as well, but in the modern era, players take a much more holistic approach to their development, which meant the appointment of a permanent manager this summer was vital to convincing players like Garnacho that this was the best place for them.
Now, there can be no doubts. This has been a slow burn of a season for the Spanish-born attacker, who qualifies for Argentina through his mother. He was punished for poor timekeeping on the pre-season tour and has been on the end of some tough love at Carrington from Erik ten Hag.
It was noticeable that Bruno Fernandes repeated those messages after Garnacho had scored in San Sebastian against Real Sociedad. It might not be nice to hear, but the 18-year-old should be grateful that the manager and senior players care enough to voice those concerns. It shows how highly they regard him.
Since that goal in the Europa League, Garnacho has been going from strength to strength. He was electric as a substitute against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup last week before his brilliant injury-time winner at Fulham on Sunday, another moment that gave you the impression this was a player going to the very top.
He is thriving now under Ten Hag, but crucially the Dutchman is determined to keep his feet on the ground. He praised him after the win at Craven Cottage, but there was also a reminder to the player in there not to derail the progress he's made off the pitch since August.
"We had a discussion with my coaches and I saw his improvement in the last months, you could see his potential and for me, it was the point to bring him in that he had such an impact but you can't think that before," said Ten Hag.
"But he has and this shows what talents can do, but it is still a long way to go. He has to keep his feet on the ground, it's the whole team now, he has to do much more investment because he will be recognisable for everyone.
"So it's much more important to every time confirm it. Big players know that, young players don't know.
"Now it's a four-week break, that's already a danger for him, because he now has momentum, it's good in the season and let's see how he's coming back (from the interval). We have to manage that, manage that with him, his attitude is good, I'm certain he will have an impact.
"The danger is four weeks, no games, lose focus, less investment. It's only when he stays on the same attitude that he's working the last three, four or five weeks the process will keep going and his progress will keep going. If not it goes the other way around."
Ten Hag is keeping the pressure on Garnacho and on the evidence of recent weeks, he is responding to it.
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