Christian Vieri was asked on Tuesday to name the best player of the Serie A season in each area of the pitch: goal, defence, midfield and attack.
He picked Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic up front.
However, Vieri pointedly added that he was selecting the version of Vlahovic that flourished at Fiorentina – not the expensive imitation presently toiling in Turin.
Vlahovic, remember, scored 20 times in 24 appearances for Fiorentina, before joining Juventus in January for €75 million (£63m/$85m).
He has managed just seven goals in 18 appearances since, and has failed to find the back of the net in three consecutive league games for the first time this season.
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As far as Vieri is concerned, the reason for the dramatic dip in Vlahovic's strike rate is quite simple.
"If you play in a team that plays badly, you play badly too," the former Juve forward told the Gazzetta dello Sport.
But is it really that straightforward?
Certainly, Vieri is not alone in feeling that Massimiliano Allegri is to blame for Vlahovic's struggles.
Getty/GOALAfter a difficult start to the season, the coach embraced a rather antiquated and pragmatic tactical approach to propel Juve up the Serie A standings.
It is undeniably worked, because while the performances have regularly been poor, the results speak for themselves.
Indeed, it is worth remembering that the Bianconeri were in the relegation zone after four rounds, and still only seventh at Christmas.
With two games to play, they are already assured of a fourth-place finish – and the Champions League berth that comes with it.
However, Vlahovic's much-heralded arrival has not been a key factor in the upturn in Juve's form.
He scored just 13 minutes into his debut and needed only 32 seconds to open his Champions League account, but the Serbia international has often cut a forlorn figure up front.
His frustration was certainly obvious after last Friday's shock 2-1 loss at Genoa.
Vlahovic was replaced with 16 minutes to go and appeared visibly upset as he took his seat on the bench.
It was inevitably suggested by certain mischievous media outlets that he was furious with Allegri for taking him off, but, in truth, he may have been just as annoyed with himself for a dismal display.
Despite attempts to convey the impression of a falling out between coach and player, Allegri and Vlahovic have a healthy working relationship.
Only last week, the pair partook in a friendly shooting contest during a training session, which Allegri jokingly claimed afterwards to have won because it was 'next goal winner'.
"I put the last shot in and he scored when it didn’t count," he told reporters, laughing.
Allegri has been upset by the suggestion that he is "ruining" one of the best young forwards in the world, rubbishing rumours of any personal or tactical issues with Vlahovic, even going so far as to insist that he is surprised at just how well Vlahovic has done since joining in January.
It is certainly plausible that Vlahovic is simply being too hard on himself. Like many strikers, he is a perfectionist and he gets irritated when things do not go his way.
Allegri has alluded to this alleged temperamental streak several times, arguing that the 22-year-old needs to learn how to control his emotions, as well as understand that if he has not scored, it does not mean he has played badly.
However, the questioning of Allegri's approach is also valid.
He said himself when Vlahovic joined that the Partizan product had "qualities" that Juventus lacked. And yet more than three months later, Allegri appears no closer to integrating those special attributes into his game plan.
As Fabio Licari wrote in Monday's Gazzetta, "The best No.9 in the league is still a foreign body in this Juve."
Of course, playing at Juve brings with it a very different kind of pressure.
"Dusan needs time," ex-Bianconeri centre-half Medhi Benatia told the Gazzetta. "When you arrive in Turin, you have to get to grips with the weight of the jersey you're wearing, regardless of your wage or price tag.
"At times, watching on TV, I've seen him grumbling. That's not okay. He's a guaranteed starter. Allegri will give him confidence. He just has to be patient."
Getty/GOALStill, his frustration is somewhat understandable, given former club Fiorentina are far more adventurous and creative than Juve.
He averaged a goal every 102 minutes in Florence. At Juve, it is one every 206 minutes.
It could be argued that the dip is down to Vlahovic, who has seen his conversion rate fall from 22.99 per cent to 12.5.
But that could be down to the quality and difficulty of the opportunities he is being presented with by a less offensively minded and creative team.
Indeed, it seems significant that Vlahovic gets what Opta describes as a 'Big Chance' every 160 minutes at Juve, where he was being presented with one every 107 minutes in Florence.
Vlahovic is also averaging fewer shots per game (3.6 to 3.1), and fewer touches in the opposition box (6.1 to 5.9).
Hardly surprising, then, that there was widespread ridicule when he was recently replaced in a game against Venezia by defender Giorgio Chiellini, as it was viewed as a farcical illustration of just how unsuited he is to Allegri's footballing philosophy.
Again, though, the counter-argument is that the Tuscan has done what he needed to do to salvage Juve's season.
He was undeniably under a huge amount of pressure to finish fourth, given failing to qualify for the Champions League would have created all sorts of financial problems for his employers.
Some, therefore, argue that Juve will embrace a more attacking style next season, one far more likely to get the very best out of Vlahovic.
He would definitely be aided by the acquisition of a new attacking midfielder, a regular playing partner up front and the return of Federico Chiesa from injury.
"Juve is in a period of change, also in a generational sense, and they're encountering difficulties, above all in midfield," former Fiorentina forward Luca Toni told the Gazzetta.
"Allegri is very good but he's struggling to find a midfield capable of supplying the attack, and when Vlahovic plays low, he's forced to play far from the goal.
"Chiesa's injury was a real misfortune also for Dusan, but if he stays calm, and doesn't go looking for goals at all costs, and continues to help the team, soon he'll get back scoring again."
It would certainly be surprising if Allegri did not have a plan for a player that Juve invested heavily in, believing him to be a generational talent worth constructing their new project around.
And despite the underwhelming nature of the campaign to date, there has been no suggestion that club president Andrea Agnelli has any intention of sacking a man he now believes it was a mistake to part company with back in 2019.
Clearly, Juve believe that both Allegri and Vlahovic are integral to their future success.
Their present goal, meanwhile, is Coppa Italia glory. Victory in Wednesday's eagerly-awaited showdown with Inter at the Stadio Olimpico would give Juve a huge boost going into next season.
Allegri also needs a win to avoid becoming the first Juve coach since Luigi Delneri in 2010-11 to fail to lift at least one trophy over the course of a single campaign.
It will not be easy, of course. Inter are undeniably the favourites to prevail.
Juve played surprisingly well in what was effectively a Serie A title-race eliminator against Simone Inzaghi's Scudetto chasers in April, but were ultimately punished for their lack of a cutting edge.
So, while Allegri may well be happy with the Vlahovic he has seen in Turin to date, he really could do with figuring out how to get the Fiorentina version to turn up in Rome.
