You couldn't exactly fault Chelsea for bravery when they decided to ship Nemanja Matic to Manchester United this summer, procuring Tiemoue Bakayoko as his replacement.
Matic had been a constant fixture in two title winning teams for Chelsea in just three years and took the bold decision to sell to one of their closest rivals.
Nevertheless, in spite of the foolhardiness of the deal, the prospect of a Bakayoko and N'Golo Kante partnership in front of the Blues' defence certainly sounded menacing.
Four months in, though, and the defensive midfield duo isn't quite the same still.
Bakayoko hasn't exactly flopped at Stamford Bridge but his mediocre form has certainly raised further questions over Chelsea's transfer behaviour this summer.
One man who has been rather underwhelmed by the Frenchman, too, has been a certain Frank Lampard who was expecting Bakayoko to fit into the bracket of Yaya Toure.
They'll certainly be the feel that Lampard has spoken up for a lot of Chelsea fans here.
Writing in his column for the Evening Standard, the BT Sport pundit bemoaned: “Tiemoue Bakayoko will need to raise his game at Chelsea to keep Danny Drinkwater from taking his place on a more regular basis.
“Both players joined in the summer and as yet, Bakayoko has not made enough of an impact in games.
“When you sign for Chelsea, you have to understand that you’re never the only player for a position. There is always someone else knocking on the door.
“The pressure should be coming from within. Chelsea paid Monaco £40m for him - and that brings expectation. He has to live up to that on the pitch.
“Bakayoko has to work hard in training and also when he plays. He has quality, we saw that in the Champions League last season. He was fantastic in Monaco’s run to the semi-finals and that’s what everyone is waiting for at Chelsea.”
The question is: just how long can Chelsea afford to wait? Lampard has offered a theory on why Bakayoko has started so slowly, though.
He continued: “At the moment I am looking at Bakayoko and I’m not sure what kind of midfield player he is.
“I initially thought he could be compared to Yaya Toure, however, I don’t see that so much now.
“The way Chelsea play means he has to be disciplined in midfield, as Conte wants the wing-backs high up the pitch.
“Then the attacking players are given a bit of freedom, so he is one of two defensive midfielders given real responsibility to win tackles, keep things tight and move the ball quickly. N’Golo Kante does it out of instinct, but Bakayoko is finding it harder.”
Who would you rather have in your team - Bakayoko or Matic? Have your say in the comments section below.