Arriving at the Camp Nou in the summer of 2015, there was little real fanfare for Arda Turan, given that Barcelona were coming off the back of a treble and were focused on presidential elections.
At that time, the Turk was a controversial acquisition. He was signed by the management commission at the request of Luis Enrique, who had just renewed his own contract and arrived at a time of great boardroom uncertainty.
In the stands, fans were pleased with the arrival of the Atletico Madrid midfielder, despite the fact that he couldn't officially register or play until January 2016 due to transfer restrictions.
The Camp Nou faithful had watched him with admiration during his time with the Rojiblancos and felt he could add different options to the middle third of the field.
However, Arda originally struggled with the defensive tasks he was required to perform and it took him time to adapt to the change.
The Turkey international ended the season in poor form, which continued into the summer when he found himself booed in France by his own country's fans during Euro 2016.
After the holidays, he returned to Barcelona aiming to put away that disappointment but likely would have been worried by the summer signings of Andre Gomes and Denis Suarez.
It proved to be Neymar's early absence which gave Turan a chance to impress in a wider left position, where he proved effective.
In the Supercopa de Espana, he was decisive by claiming an assist in the first leg and adding to that by netting twice in the return game at the Camp Nou.
Upon Neymar's return from the Olympic Games, the usual balance was restored. He slotted straight back in and Turan was the man to suffer, making way once again.
When Barcelona first signed Turan last year, it looked like they were viewing him as a central midfield option but 18 months on, it seems that a wider attacking role may offer him his best chance of success at the Camp Nou.
In 19 appearances in all competitions the season, he has scored 11 goals, almost twice as many as first choice Neymar has managed in 18 matches.
The Brazilian is currently on six goals for the campaign and hasn't netted since a 4-0 Champions League win over Manchester City in mid-October.
His game does, of course, go beyond just scoring goals and in that sense, he has compensated for his drought by providing 13 assists.
It does provide an intriguing debate though about the best man to fill that role on the left flank.
The former Galatasaray man's explosion of goals has been evidence of a greater amount arriving from midfielders, with 32 percent of Barcelona's goals coming from that position: 22 of 67.
It is good news for Luis Enrique who relied greatly on the goals and performances of MSN during his first two seasons at the club and outwith that trio, the statistics from others were somewhat poor.
Last season at this stage of the campaign, just seven of the 73 goals were scored by midfielders, an amount that was marginally better in 2014/15, when 10 players from that position netted.
To find a greater percentage that this season's number, you have to go back to Pep Guardiola's team in 2011/12, when Barcelona's midfielders netted 29 before the turn of the year.
That was achieved in large part by having the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Thiago Alcantara, Cesc Fabregas and Seydou Keita at Guardiola's disposal in his final season with the club. In fact, only Sergio Busquets hadn't hit the back of the net.