"He can be a top midfielder in the future," Carlo Ancelotti said of Jean-Philippe Gbamin in April 2021.
"He has all the qualities – technically and physically – of a top midfielder."
This was perhaps as good as it has ever been for Gbamin at Everton. So far, anyway.
He had finally returned to action after 597 days out - consecutive hamstring and Achilles injuries limiting him to only two prior appearances after a £25m move from Mainz in 2019 - as James Rodriguez scored in a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace.
Ancelotti was full of enthusiasm for the 26-year-old midfielder after his cameo. And Evertonians had no reason to doubt him. After all, how could they? They had witnessed only 135 minutes worth of evidence before serious injury struck twice.
But then, a week later, the unthinkable happened. Gbamin was out - again - after a freak training-ground collision with Lucas Digne.
Yet Ancelotti doubled-down on his commitment. The Italian could be economical with the truth when it suited - he insisted several times he wanted to lead Everton to Bramley-Moore Dock - but he seemed to have genuine belief in Gbamin.
“I think that we are not going to replace him because we are sure he has the quality and the potential that he can play," Ancelotti said after the fresh injury was confirmed.
Less than 12 months later and Gbamin is 2,500 miles away in Russia after agreeing a mid-term loan move to CSKA Moscow. Ancelotti left for Real Madrid in June, while his replacement at Everton, Rafa Benitez, was sacked after 22 games in charge.
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But Frank Lampard knew - or was told - enough about Gbamin to sanction a temporary exit three weeks after replacing Benitez as manager. So where does that leave the Ivorian?
His most recent run-out in Everton colours came on a Friday night at Burnley under-23s in February, playing 60 minutes in a 2-1 defeat. The following day, he was left out of the senior squad to face Leeds United and the writing was on the wall.
Because with Donny van de Beek joining on loan from Manchester United, Gbamin was arguably last in the midfield pecking order behind Allan, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Andre Gomes, a fully-fit Tom Davies and Fabian Delph.
Duncan Ferguson even turned to 18-year-old academy graduate Tyler Onyango before Gbamin as Everton chased an equaliser against Aston Villa.
Yet it was clear Gbamin was not in the thoughts of Lampard after defeat to Southampton, where he again was left out of the squad.
“We’re missing Ben Godfrey today, missing Doucoure, missing Demarai Gray, Fabian Delph,” the manager said afterwards. "[Have I] missed anyone out?"
He had, but by then negotiations with CSKA were already underway after being given a glowing recommendation by team-mate Salomon Rondon.
Gbamin is well-liked around Finch Farm but there have also been reservations around his quality in training.
It was understood Benitez had been unimpressed by the consistency shown by Gbamin during sessions and if his short reign proved anything it was how far the former Lens star had been set back by wretched injury luck.
The decision by the Spaniard to start Gbamin at Wolverhampton Wanderers in November - perhaps as a sink or swim experiment - was seen as risky beforehand and downright irresponsible 45 minutes later when he had to be hooked with Everton trailing by two.
He had not started in the Premier League for 18 months and looked shell-shocked as a midfield pairing, alongside Allan, was overrun. The game was too quick, too intense, and Benitez taking him off at half-time was an act of mercy.
By January, Gbamin had been informed by Benitez he was free to leave, but not before the embarrassment of watching centre-back Mason Holgate come off the bench before him to play in midfield against Tottenham Hotspur.
"I will say that, to be fair, it's complicated," the Spanish manager admitted when asked about Gbamin and his situation afterwards.
He would play only 50 more minutes before Benitez was sacked, with the majority of those coming during extra-time at Hull City in the FA Cup third round. This would prove to be his final Everton appearance of the season.
So who do you trust when it comes to Gbamin? The unimpressed Benitez or the media-savvy Ancelotti? Can he really still become a 'top midfielder' after two years of injury hell?
Reports in Russia claim Gbamin - who believes he is in 'good shape' - was excellent as he played 89 minutes in a 2-0 victory at Spartak Moscow on his CSKA debut on Saturday, positioned in the centre of a midfield three.
But Lampard was in no rush to bring him back into the Everton fold despite Doucoure, Davies and Delph all being out injured at the time he joined CSKA. This tells a story of its own.
Gbamin is also the largest blot in Marcel Brands' copybook - his signing driven more by the departed director of football than other high-profile deals, such as Alex Iwobi - despite injuries playing a major factor.
For the time being, there is a sense Ancelotti was wrong. Gbamin might never be given the chance to show what the Italian apparently could see should Lampard have his own ideas about how to revitalise a midfield in dire need of fresh legs and ideas.
But there remains a tantalising glimmer of hope. Should he play consistently for CSKA - and play well - he could return fully-fit and ready to show the qualities Ancelotti spoke glowingly of. The same qualities Brands was convinced were worth £25m, too.
Everton negotiated a good deal for Gbamin. Moscow - fourth in the Russian Premier League - will pay up to 75% of his wages while there is no purchase option at the end of the loan. The door remains open for a comeback at this stage.
It would be a surprise twist, no doubt. But a welcome one for a player whose Premier League tale has been penned almost exclusively from the treatment table and substitutes bench, interwoven with a global pandemic, four different managers and the birth of his child.
And so the next several months may decide the ending of the Gbamin and Everton story.
A final, underwhelming act in Russia? Or the start of a new, important chapter at Goodison Park? Only time will tell.
