This season has not been kind to Vincent Kompany and Burnley, who are presently 19th in the Premier League table with just one point.
Only Luton Town are below them in the table, demonstrating to the Belgian players the hard realities of life in the English top flight.
Of course, there’s still a long way to go in the 2023/24 season, and Kompany will be hoping that something clicks soon and they can start climbing the table.
Their work may have been made easier if they had been able to sign Dodi Lukebakio, a 25-year-old marksman from Hertha Berlin, in the summer.
Sport BILD, a fellow Belgian publication, said that Burnley had made a £9.5 million approach for his talents during the summer window.
However, he ended up joining La Liga club Sevilla, and according to an interview he gave to Spanish daily MARCA, the decision was simple.
“When a club like Sevilla shows interest, of course you have to listen,” he was reported as saying.
“We talked a lot after that.” You don’t have to think too hard since they are a great club, and that’s what I want to do: play to show myself and grow as a young player. It was not tough to pick Sevilla.”
Given that the Andalusians were bottom of the Spanish first tier until their Saturday triumph over Las Palmas, a game in which Lukebakio played his first minutes for the club and scored the winning goal, he could be forgiven for thinking that his initial decision was, at best, ill-advised.
Perhaps he can now kick-start his career in Spain, while Kompany will want his team to do the same.