So much can change in 12 months and Marcus Rashford is learning that the hard way - not for the first time either.
Local-born graduates tend to find it tougher to thrive in the modern footballing landscape as well, pitted against all the talent in the world at the fingertips of spectators. More tangibly though, his form is poor and that is an immediate frustration that perhaps goes beyond anything else. He is versatile and can play across the frontline, though the wait goes on to truly find his best role. He also regularly plays over 2,500 minutes in the league alone. At 26, he is the type of player that most sides would look to build around with his catalogue and history showing plenty to get behind.
Shortly after he was one of the three England players to miss a penalty in the Euro 2020 final against Italy.