At various points throughout Barcelona's two recent games against Napoli in the UEFA Europa League, Ferran Torres cut a frustrated and dejected figure.
Watching the former Manchester City man was at times painful, as in the first-leg in particular he missed chance after chance, his confidence having seemingly deserted him just after completing the transfer he had always dreamed of.
Signed as the front-man to spearhead Xavi's rebuilding project, at Torres' unveiling Barca president Joan Laporta claimed the Spanish giants were 'back'.
A convincing 4-2 win away at Napoli in the second leg of their Europa League play-off round tie certainly suggested that Barca are once again capable of competing with the bigger clubs in Europe, but it would be a stretch to say that Torres is anywhere near the top of his game yet.
It is safe to say that the 21-year-old attacker, who City sold to Barca for an initial fee of £46.7m, is still finding his feet at Camp Nou. He has scored twice in eight matches for his new club - once in the Copa del Rey and once in the Europa League - but he is not yet looking like the clinical striker many hope he will become.
Do not be mistaken; this is not intended as a dig at the young Spaniard. There is no doubting that Torres is an extremely talented youngster with the potential to become an elite striker, but 'potential' is very much the operative word.
When the wheels of Torres' departure from City were very quickly set in motion a couple of months ago, there was a general feeling that City had had their trousers pulled down and their lunch money nicked.
After arriving at City in the summer of 2020, Ferran endured a debut season typical of attacking signings made during Pep Guardiola's tenure. He impressed in patches, but it was clear that he was going to need at least a year to adapt to his new coach's unique systems and demands.
An impressive hat-trick against Newcastle late season, followed by some decent outings at Euro 2020, meant that Torres' stock at City had risen by the time that the pursuit of Harry Kane collapsed and Guardiola declared that Torres would be considered a striker in 2021/22
As the only recognised striker in the squad - Gabriel Jesus was thriving on the right-wing at the time - the spotlight was fixed on Torres, with every glimpse of potential he showed taken as an indicator that huge things were to come.
Then Barca came in and Torres, like many young Spanish players, could not say no. City made a healthy £25m profit on a player they signed 16 months earlier but had lost one of the brightest young talents of a generation.
But really, was the deal that bad? Torres has huge potential, but as he is now showing in Catalonia, he has some way to go before he transitions from a 'confidence player' into a reliable goal-scorer.
City have been fantastic this season largely in the absence of a striker so when they do sign one, he must offer a reliable goal-scoring threat. Potential or not, at this stage in his career that is something Torres lacks.
After the first leg of the Napoli tie, during which Torres scored a penalty but missed a number of clear chances, the young striker was visibly upset. "We have to trust Ferran Torres - it's a matter of giving him time and confidence," Xavi said.
Guardiola's former captain is right, but that doesn't mean City should be devastated about losing him. Torres wanted to join Barca, City managed to make a profit and have academy graduates like Cole Palmer and James McAtee who may well take advantage of the squad space vacated.
City didn't want to sell Torres, but it might be no bad thing that they did.
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