Juan Iturbe walked into an awkward situation the moment he set foot in Rome. Iturbe's big money move to Roma, initially believed to be a whopping €30 million, was alternatively harangued and hailed. He was either an expensive but viable investment or a completely sunken cost; there was no middle ground for Manu. The stirring highs against Lazio, Juventus and even CSKA Moscow in the Champions League, were deflated by a dramatic downturn in 2015, when Iturbe struggled to even get on the pitch, much less live up to that eight figure price tag.

All this disappointment and frustration came to ahead late this summer, when Iturbe was a hair's breadth awayfrom moving to Genoa, much to the chagrin of Genoa President Enrico Preziosi. That near transfer was all but erased from our memories when Iturbe made his season debut on August 30th against Juventus. It didn't erase the disappointment of the prior year, but it was at least an indication he factored in Rudi Garcia's plans for the season.

While he has yet to string together a run of good matches, his last minute removal from the transfer block seemed to suggest a renewed faith in Iturbe's talent and potential. Be that as it may, Iturbe has yet to play more than 45 minutes in a league match, once again throwing his future into doubt.

Given that downward trend, Iturbe seems willing to take matters into his own hands. Italian site Leggo suggests that Iturbe, having read the tea leaves, is seeking greener pastures in Italy, possibly even returning to Verona to reunite with Luca Toni. With the permanent captures of Mohamed Salah and Iago Falque, not to mention Gervinho's mini-resurgence, Iturbe's playing time only stands to dwindle.

I can't vouch for the credibility of this source, but given that confluence of circumstances and his own poor performance since arriving in Rome, it's a safe bet Iturbe will seek steady playing time with another club.

The only question remaining is how big a hit will Roma take on this one?