Who remembers Joseph Minala?

For those of you that can’t remember, he was the 17-year-old Lazio player that was accused of being 42.

An African football website suggested that the Cameroonian midfielder was actually 25 years older than he was claiming - something that led to an official investigation from the Italian Football Association.

But the youngster was cleared and on April 4, 2014, was making his debut for the Italian club at the age of just 17, wearing the number nine shirt.

Was he the next big thing? Everyone thought so.

Well, the following summer, he was shipped out on loan to Serie B side Bari, where he scored three times in 18 appearances during the 2014/15 season.

But after his early signs of promise during that campaign, things have gone downhill.

During the 2015/16 season, he played just five matches during loan spells with Latina and Bari.

Then, in January 2017, he was sent out to fellow Serie B side Salernitana, with the option of a permanent move.

But it wouldn’t be a surprise if Salernitana turn down the chance to sign the 21-year-old permanently. With Minala in their side, Salernitana are currently 17th out of 22 teams.

And, last week, Minala was involved in an altercation with one of his own fans after his side’s 0-0 draw at home to Pro Vercelli.

At the age of 21, Minala probably would have been expecting to be a first-team regular at Lazio after making his debut at the age of 17 and in the Cameroonian national side.

But it seems he’s struggling in the second-tier of Italian football and might not even return to the Stadio Olimpico at the end of the season. In terms of being selected for Cameroon, he's made just two appearances for the Under-23's - and that's it.

He’s certainly at a very important stage of his career. He’s still young enough to turn this around and become the player everyone thought he was going to be. However, he’s also in danger of becoming the latest wonderkid who failed to fulfil his potential.