COMMENT: A year ago, if Charly Musonda was facing the prospect of his loan being cut short, it would've been a disaster. A career killer. Especially at Chelsea.
But today, with the Belgian now in London being treated for a knee strain, the idea that Real Betis will agree to terminate his deal six months early isn't a problem. Indeed, it's an opportunity.
In Belgium, they're convinced Chelsea will loan out the 20 year-old again for the second-half of the season. Anderlecht have already come forward. But is it such a lock that Chelsea, with Antonio Conte now running things, will release Musonda for another temporary deal? Indeed, will Musonda, having seen Nathaniel Chalobah make his breakthrough and the enforced-nomadic Victor Moses find his stride, actually push to leave again?
In the past, under a different manager, it would be a certainty. Musonda - and his ex-pro father - would demand Chelsea allow him to move on. But Conte has form. He's given Chalobah his chance. Ola Aina also. Two players Musonda came through together with the Cobham youth teams. And Conte's made muppets out of all those who believed Moses simply wasn't up to it.
For Musonda, the Moses case in important. At West Ham last season - and with Stoke City the previous campaign - he'd done well, without setting the world ablaze. Certainly offering no evidence of what he'd produce under Conte. Indeed, it can be argued Musonda's six months with Betis last season, where he was crucial in keeping the club up, were far more impactful than any of Moses' recent loans.
Yet, now Moses is a first-choice. He'd walk into any team in the country - and the majority across Europe, just ask Robert Fernandez, Barcelona's sporting director. If Conte sits down with Musonda and makes a case for him to stay, you could understand the Belgian sticking around.
"This is a player who can win games on his own," says Musonda's former Belgium U21 coach, Enzo Scifo. "They know how good he is at Chelsea. But he's not playing there for other reasons. Everyone agrees with how talented he is."
At Betis, it's been a shambles. Niggling injuries and coaching changes have taken their toll. Last season, it was the exact opposite. The kid we'd been talking about since he was 14 years old. The one we'd been waiting for. Not only earned minutes under then coach Juan Merino, but lit the place up. Before arriving in January, his one taste of senior football had been with Chelsea's tour of Australia. That was it. But with the backing of Merino, it all came together.
"I wish we had the option to buy him," enthused Merino. "With his attitude and commitment on the field - and at 19 years of age - being such an impressive player, he has the potential to play for any team he wants."
Merino's comments came after a crucial win at Espanyol, where among those in attendance was Marc Wilmots, who had Musonda under consideration for Belgium's Euros squad.
In the end, the call never came. But Miguel Torricelli, the Betis sporting director, was on the phone, urging Musonda to return for a full season. How could the kid say no?
But the decision was made with Merino already gone, replaced by Gus Poet. And despite the Uruguayan's Chelsea history, he just didn't fancy Musonda. The midfielder returned to Betis as a first-choice, but under Poet found himself benched - or even in the stands. This wasn't in the script.
"I didn't see it coming," Musonda has since conceded, before trying to stay positive. "I was his (Poyet's) first substitute. But I expected more.
"Last season, I began with the Chelsea U21s and finished with people saying I should go to the Euros. The season is long. Things will change."
And things did change, with Poet sacked and replaced by Victor Sanchez. But like his predecessor, Sanchez couldn't find room in his line-up for the Chelsea loanee.
"We have many strikers and I can't play them all," argued the new coach. "He (Musonda) is working well. There'll be minutes for all."
But the Belgian's status has remained the same: substitute or stands. And with his absence occurring a penalty fee from Chelsea, Torricelli concedes the best solution is a break.
"It's clear that for Betis it costs us more if he does not play a series of games. It's normal for a big team to ask you to return a player if he does not play," he says.
But as much as Musonda is frustrated, Torricelli is doubly so. It was he who drove the original deal last season and convinced Musonda to return, not only last summer, but also this season as matters with Poet reached breaking point. The Belgian was again back in London, citing a knee injury, but there was a feeling in Seville that he'd enough of Poet and the way he'd been treated. It was only after his sacking that Musonda returned to Spain, having been convinced by Torricelli.
But with Sanchez showing little enthusiasm, Torricelli has accepted defeat: "The next thing to do is see if his injury has healed. Then we can talk about ending the loan."
However, as has been shown this season at Chelsea, what doesn't work for one manager (or two in Betis' case) can work for Conte. He's done it with Chalobah, with Aina and definitely with Moses.
As Musonda proved last season, the talent is there. The talent to be decisive. To be a matchwinner. And for Conte to prove - again - he can succeed with players where others have failed.