The Evan Ferguson question. Should he or shouldn't he?
When the Irish striker fell out of a favour at his parent club Brighton, the usual loan moves to the spit and sawdust joints of the Championship were mooted. Should we send our finest frontman to the grim and dreary north-east of England? Or the grim and dreary midlands?
However, the bright lights of Rome emerged as an unlikely ray of sunlight and before we knew it, the Bettystown star was on his way to Serie A. A dream move - but a challenging one.
Meanwhile, about 1600km or so north of the Italian capital, Ferguson's international strikemate, Troy Parrott, was taking the Eredivisie by storm, banging in goals to beat the band for AZ Alkmaar. Parrott would take that form into the crucial international window against Portugal and Hungary and, well, you know the rest.
So begs the question - reach for the stars or for something more pragmatic?
Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer podcast, former Bray Wanderer Alan Cawley asked if Ferguson's - and indeed Ireland's - immediate needs would have been better served with a confidence-boosting season in the familiar surrounds of England's second tier, rather than the relative unknown of Italy's notoriously cut-throat top flight.
"All Troy Parrott is thinking about is banging in goals. He's on fire. It leads you to thinking, he’s playing in maybe not the most established league, like Serie A," Cawley wondered.
"Evan made his choice to go to Roma. He's in a situation now – fair enough, he had an injury. But you look at the attention Troy is getting. You look back at Evan’s decision and whoever was guiding him – of course, he’d always have good guidance in [father] Barry, a former player, but to go to Roma was a big decision.
"The scrutiny on the club. The manager’s outspoken, things not happening for him. There’s no guarantee of first-team football anywhere – but if he was in the Championship where he’s 80% sure he’s going to play every week, be the big fish for a year, score a few goals.
"Look at what it’s done for Troy Parrott."
For his part, former Ireland international Keith Treacy is not convinced that Ferguson's move hasn't worked out. Ferguson has had his successes - and his frustrations - at Roma and his relationship with manager Gian Piero Gasperini remains a peculiar one. But, Treacy argues, when presented with the prospect of a stint in Serie A, what footballer would turn it down?
"In a way, I would love Evan to be playing in a Championship team every single week and getting a handful of goals," the former Burnley midfielder said.
"But, imagine sitting with your agent, going for a cup of coffee, you're surplus to requirements at Brighton – maybe third or fourth choice – and all of a sudden Roma are interested. Gasperini fancies you.
"I understand the thought of 'is that a great move?’ but if a manager of that calibre and a team of that calibre want you… when Evan finishes his career in 20-odd years, imagine saying to yourself ‘I had the chance to go to Roma but I didn’t take it’."
"An ankle injury is an ankle injury, he could’ve got that anywhere. I understand Gasperini has cracked the whip at him a couple of times. But Evan’s a young lad, he’s struggling with injuries and what he’s done to date in his career has been absolutely brilliant.
"He’s still so far ahead of the peak at that age, that we shouldn’t worry too much about him. While Troy is doing what he’s doing, we’re in a privileged position to be able to say ‘Evan, go and do what you’re doing and take your time’.
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