It was only really an issue over image rights that stopped Paulo Dybala from strutting his stuff in England this season — and Tuesday night showed what Juventus might have missed out on.
His mooted departure always seemed like a surprise. This forward, nicknamed 'La Joya' ('The Jewel') by fans, has always been a talent and while he dipped in and out of the side last season, he never lost his talent.
Instead of appearing for Spurs on Tuesday or waiting for the Europa League with Manchester United, Dybala struck twice to rescue three points for Juventus against CSKA Moscow. Usually it is Cristiano Ronaldo who steps up in these situations for Juve. This time it was Dybala.
The first was brilliant, a whipped shot from the edge of the area. His winner was instinctive, latching onto Alex Sandro's shot to fire in.
He has had a few good weeks for Juventus, also scoring the crucial goal in the win over Inter Milan — likely their biggest rivals to the Scudetto — earlier in October.
It explains why both La Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport splashed his face across their covers on Wednesday morning. He has re-established himself under Maurizio Sarri.
Not that he has been entirely out of the rumour mill. There were suggestions he could be offered to Spurs again in January and Sportsmail columnist Chris Sutton thinks he'd be a success there.
'He would have been brilliant in a Spurs shirt,' Sutton said. '25 yards out, you cannot give him that time and that is a stunning, stunning finish.
'For his second, [Alex] Sandro gets away a decent strike but as soon as Dybala gets it you know it will hit the back of the net.'
It does not seem likely that he would want to move though, explaining in early October: ‘Hearing your name linked to every team and every place, where you don’t want to go, isn’t a nice thing.
‘But this is football, even if before the transfer window opened I said: “I want to stay here”.
‘I think it was more important to let the pitch do the talking, even if until the last day no-one knew what would happen.
‘I feel less weight on my shoulders and very calm mentally. I was convinced that with (Maurizio) Sarri, I’d start to have fun, work and prove what I’m worth. ‘And that’s what I’m trying to do. Sarri and Allegri have different ways of playing, and it shows.
‘With (Massimiliano) Allegri we did so many things, but I think we play a bit more attacking with Sarri and we play the ball more.'
That hints at the fact that Sarri-ball probably suits him more than anything Allegri was up to in Turin. He's the sort of forward that works well with the expansive Sarri.
Sarri clearly has Dybala's faith. After Tuesday's win, he said: 'I just say that we need to keep working hard as we are doing. The coach has his own ideas and we fully trust him.'
It always seemed strange that he would go without having a shot under the former Chelsea manager. It was rumoured towards the end of the window that his exit didn't happen over a payment to his agent. He might now be happy that demand was there.
Given Juventus want to go all the way in the Champions League this season, Dybala's intervention was crucial. It is to their benefit that his move was held up at the negotiating table.
