Harry Maguire's career was undoubtedly on the up when he was appointed Manchester United's permanent skipper in January 2020.
The England international rarely missed a minute for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side and was a guaranteed starter for his country. He was also the world's most expensive defender following his £80million move from Leicester to United five months earlier.
Fast forward 32 months, however, and Maguire is in a completely different situation. He is now on the bench under Erik ten Hag after the arrivals of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, with his England place in doubt. Things can change very quickly in football.
Maguire is enduring the toughest spell of his United captaincy... yet he can't say he wasn't warned. Gary Neville, a former United captain himself, told Maguire to expect plenty of criticism from fans, pundits and journalist during his time in the coveted role.
Maguire was officially appointed United's captain after his predecessor Ashley Young completed a move to Inter Milan. The news didn't come as a shock to supporters, as the centre-back had spent much of the season wearing the armband.
Neville's warning came after Maguire announced he was the new captain on Twitter. "Dream come true to be named the Manchester United captain," he tweeted. "Proud moment and huge honour. Just want to wish Ashley Young all the best at Inter Milan."
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On seeing Maguire's tweet, Neville replied: "Congratulations! The s*** will come thick and fast in the next year or two. Stick at it as you are the captain of the biggest club in the world and it will rise and win again."
Maguire saw Neville's tweet and replied: "Thanks a lot, appreciate the message." Yet the question the Sheffield United academy graduate must ponder is whether to "stick at it" - as Neville told him to - or leave Old Trafford and revive his career elsewhere.
After all, Maguire is still regarded as an excellent defender by many within the game. The centre-back was linked with Barcelona and Chelsea during the recent summer window - and that doesn't happen unless you are one of the best in your position.
Another option for Maguire is to give up the captaincy to focus on his defending. Speaking to The Express about Maguire's form in June, former United defender Mikael Silvestre said: "It is tough. It is a double challenge. Because before being a captain, you need to be a technical leader - and that means playing at your best.
"Leadership comes second. But I think he is aware of his situation and he knows exactly where he is in terms of his performances, so hopefully a good break mentally, with a new manager and a new dynamic, that will help him to go back to his best."
Where Maguire's career goes form here remains to be seen, yet it does feel as if the next nine months will be decisive. The only thing we definitely know is that the United captaincy is one of the hardest gigs in football - just ask Neville and Maguire.
