Bruno Fernandes' move to Manchester United came so very close to falling through in January.
That would have gone down as a travesty given how quickly the Portuguese has taken to life at Old Trafford.
The 25-year-old has already chipped in with a couple of goals and assists apiece in his five games so far for his new club.
Fernandes was at it again on Thursday night against Club Brugge, opening the scoring with a penalty after Simon Deli saw red for an audaciously blatant handball inside the box. The midfielder made no mistake from the spot.
For United's second, he was also heavily involved as he orchestrated some fine build-up play down the wing. The ball eventually landed to Juan Mata, whose cutback found another new signing in Odion Ighalo and the Nigerian scored his first United goal.
United have been rewarded for a fine performance with a first-leg trip to LASK in the last-16 after the draw took place on Friday.
The Austrian side will no doubt be unenthused by the prospect of facing Fernandes in the form he's in right now. It's almost a temptation to describe him as the Premier League's finest midfielder on recent showings, though that title obviously belongs to Kevin De Bruyne after his Man of the Match display in the Bernabeu.
However, United legend Paul Scholes does think Fernandes is right up there, as he discussed on BT Sport after the game.
"When I think of him the only other player I can think of is Kevin De Bruyne at Manchester City," Scholes said.
"He [De Bruyne] is the best player in the Premier League but Fernandes is right up there.
"It was a perfect night and there were a lot of very good performances.
"Fernandes stood out and he controlled the pace of play. He looks like he has brought this team to life."
A video has now been compiled of Fernandes' highlights from one of his best games yet:
"You wonder where United would be now if he had come last summer. He has made such a difference to this team. You just wonder why we didn't go for him last summer," Scholes added.
"He has made a team that did not look that watchable at times look exciting and very watchable right now."
High praise indeed from one of the great midfielders of his day.
While Fernandes naturally has a long way to go to match De Bruyne, his awareness, control and vision are right up there with the very best in his position.