Leeds United most recently oversaw a vast summer of change, with Jesse Marsch using his first transfer window as boss to completely overhaul the squad.
Losing Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips was a huge blow for the American, and so extra reinforcements were brought in to ensure that their output could be maintained despite their absence.
The Brazilian in particular felt like a big blow, given how he was theirĀ top scorerĀ and played an integral part in escaping the drop.
He would join Barcelona after a long-running saga for a whoppingĀ Ā£55m, where he has quickly become a regular under Xavi who underwent a similarly comprehensive transfer window.
However, with just two goals inĀ 13Ā La Liga games, andĀ noneĀ in their miserable Champions League campaign which saw them crash out at the group stages, it has hardly been the start of dreams for the 25-year-old.
Despite this, he earned aĀ call-upĀ to Brazilās national squad for this unprecedented World Cup, joining up with the vast wealth of attacking talent they possess.
Although competition for places will be incredibly tough, Tite handed the former Whites man a start on the right flank, joining up with superstars such as Neymar and Vinicius Junior.
It was expected that Raphinha might raise his level given the company he held, however, it seems like he just wilted under the pressure.
This culminated in hisĀ 6.7Ā SofaScore rating, which was the second worst of any of his teammates.
There were many factors that led to this poor rating, but arguably the most damning was his one-on-one miss with Serbiaās goalkeeper.
Having done well to win the ball off the centre-back, he had the option of pushing the ball just to his left to hand Neymar an open goal.
Instead, his touch let him down and he could only fire straight at the onrushing shot-stopper, much to his teammate’s dismay.
This markedĀ oneĀ big chance missed, and at 0-0, this could have been crucial.
Fortunately, he was bailed out by the heroics of Richarlison, but not before lost the ball a further 15 times and was successful in just two of his five dribbles, via SofaScore.
Although he did loseĀ 58%Ā of his duels too, hisĀ fourĀ tackles denote a forward who was willing to do the dirty work as his offence let him down. He has not lost that āincredible engineā that The Athletic’s Phil Hay once tied to him.
Regardless, this display offers a culmination of his disappointing time since moving to Catalonia.
Although he is undoubtedly missed at Elland Road, director of football Victor Orta and co will feel that he hit the jackpot with the big-money sale of an attacker now struggling in front of goal.
