If Newcastle United's defence was once this side's Achilles' heel, well, now, it may be one of its real strengths.
Newcastle conceded 17 goals in Eddie Howe's first seven games in charge, but the black-and-whites have only shipped five goals in the head coach's last seven matches in all competitions.
Hours of work on the training ground and some smart recruitment in the January transfer window have helped turn this defence into a more solid unit.
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However, if Newcastle do stay up, it would still be a surprise if the Magpies did not sign another quality centre-back in the summer.
Given the ages of Jamaal Lascelles (28), Dan Burn (29), Fabian Schar (30) and Federico Fernandez (33), there is scope to bring in a younger option who, like midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, could be a player for five years' time as much as now.
Sven Botman certainly falls into that category. The 22-year-old is already a title winner with Lille, having helped form the meanest defence in Ligue 1 last season, and the Dutchman's mentality as much as his technical ability has impressed Newcastle scouts.
Like Guimaraes, Botman is intrigued by Newcastle's project, having long dreamed of playing in the Premier League, and the defender was even prepared to swap life in Europe for an immediate relegation dogfight last month.
You can bet Botman has already spoken to Lille team-mate Hatem Ben Arfa, who previously recommended Newcastle to, among others, Allan Saint-Maximin and Mo Diame long after he left the club.
Although Lille did not wish to sell Botman in the mid-season window - there was so little time to secure a replacement for a key player - the French side may be a little more open to doing business in the summer.
Crucially, the lines of communication between the two clubs have not been severed and Newcastle have continued to keep an eye on Botman, who played against Chelsea in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The club's coaching staff and recruitment team are already well-aware of Botman's strengths and won't, necessarily, have learned a great deal more about the centre-back from a technical perspective at Stamford Bridge.
As is so often the case, Botman had the visitors' best pass completion rate (90.9%); made more clearances (seven) than any of his team-mates; and won all seven of his aerial duels.
What will have instead most intrigued Newcastle officials was how Botman handled any setbacks whilst coming up against Premier League opposition for the first time.
Botman had no time to settle in the capital and was called into action with less than a minute on the clock to calmly take the ball off Kai Havertz's feet inside the area.
Havertz soon caused Botman real problems and the elusive forward got in between both the defender and Jose Fonte to fire Cesar Azpilicueta's cross over the bar in just the third minute.
Then, just a few minutes later, Havertz easily cut inside Botman to force goalkeeper Leo Jardim into a fine save.
From the resulting corner, Havertz was, inexplicably, not picked up and the Germany international headed Chelsea in front.
Botman, tellingly, recovered from a shaky opening - later making a crucial block to deny Hakim Ziyech - and the centre-back even barged Havertz into the advertising hoardings at one point.
You can bet that Newcastle's recruitment team also noted how Botman was the lone voice after Lille conceded a second goal after the hour mark.
Lille were torn apart on the counter-attack after right-back Zeki Celik sloppily gave the ball away deep in Chelsea's half and Christian Pulisic eventually made the visitors pay.
As heads dropped and dejected Lille players fell to the ground, it was Botman who roared at his team-mates and threw his arms up and down.
Lille ultimately lost the game 2-0 but Botman popped up on Instagram the day after the defeat to warn Chelsea the two-legged tie was 'far from over'.
That is exactly the sort of character Howe and head of recruitment Steve Nickson want to bring in.
Howe, after all, is conscious of not signing individuals who will disrupt the dressing room and instead wants positive personalities and leaders with a winning mentality.
On that point, club staff will have already discreetly reached out to contacts in advance to find out more about Botman's living situation, his interests outside the game and his internal motivations.
Perhaps, it is not a surprise that the centre-back has already passed those effective tests.
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