When Fernando Llorente announced his desire to leave Athletic Bilbao at the end of his contract in 2013 it left him out of favour at San Mames.
But Juventus were one team who had not forgotten about his definite talent.
The likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were all said to be keen on his signature - but it appeared the lack of action in the 2012-13 season for the Basque club may have put them off the Spanish striker.
And it seemed like they had made the right call after the first few months of this season. The Spanish international struggled after a season basically out of action at club level to get into the swing of things at Juventus - and Antonio Conte eased him into action.
But he is now looking the part once again.
He has now scored nine goals in Serie A and two in the Champions League for Juventus - coming good at just the right time and now looking a regular starter for the Turin outfit.
Last weekend he has promised to play in the Derby d’Italia like it is was last against Inter Milan and played a blinder. He might have even just thrown himself back into contention for the Spanish World Cup squad this summer.
So how much is this player, signed for absolutely nothing in a gamble by Juventus, now worth?
According to one Spanish source - he is worth a lot.
Spanish source Futbol Finanzas have used some sort of mathematical process (that my scraped C grade at GCSE Maths could not quite fathom) which apparently sees him worth in region of €37 million.
Of course this comes amid another new striker arrival at the club - with Dani Osvaldo arriving from his troubled spell at Southampton.
That has seen Llorente linked with a potential move away in the summer - but at that price who would want to buy?
Then there is the other matter - the Bianconeri fans.
Llorente is now a fan favourite in Turin - and the fans would not want to see him leave the club.
But if Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool would have gambled on him - they could have had this enviable predicament themselves.
image: © md.faisalzaman