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He arrived in Milan with huge expectation and heavy pressure, and Gabigol has struggled to prove a point to his doubters. In short, it has been a terrible year.

Of his nine appearances in Serie A last term, not one was from the start. In total, he made 10 appearances, with his only goal coming in February against Bologna.

There was huge relief when he found the net, but it has not been enough to lift the dark cloud that has followed him around Italy.

The situation has been difficult to come to terms with for a player who had scored more than 600 goals at youth level and has such belief in his goalscoring ability.

There have been a host of reasons suggested for his failure to make an impact so far; some think he is taking time to adjust to life in Italy, while others believe he remains too tactically naive. It could also be that his Brazilian style—he loves to try a trick or two—has been a problem.

But perhaps he made the wrong decision to join Inter. Maybe, after also being pursued by the likes of Juventus and Barcelona, he picked the wrong club.

He would not have been helped by the fact he was not included in their Europa League campaign for financial fair play reasons. It was a competition that could have given him the perfect lift.

Gabigol thought playing for Inter in Serie A would be a platform to help him mature. He thought he would make a goalscoring impact in Europe. He thought signing a five-year contract would signal the beginning of even greater things.

By the end of last season, his frustration was starting to show, and now he is having to have a serious rethink whether he can risk going through any more difficult times at the club.