With Torino needing a win to pull clear of the Serie A relegation zone, manager Davide Nicola made a decision that certainly raised an eyebrow or two at the Stadio Olimpico.
Italy international Andrea Belotti, Torino’s top scorer, captain and talisman, was left on the bench as AC Milan rode into town.
Then again, Belotti only really had himself to blame as he watched on from the sidelines, helpless as his team were torn apart by a rampant Rossoneri side, going down 7-0 on home soil.
The 27-year-old is enduring one of the most difficult spells of his Granata career, scoring just once in his last 12 Serie A matches.
Is tiredness taking its toll? Fatigue setting in after this most relentless of seasons? Or is there something else at play, something more ingrained, with Belotti’s future the subject of intense debate over in Italy?
It is no secret that the former Palermo man, the seventh most prolific goal-scorer in Torino’s entire history, has not yet extended a contract that expires in 2022.
His price-tag has dropped to £22 million as a result, just three years after club president Urbano Cairo suggested that £90 million would represent a bargain fee for this bullish, battering ram of a number nine.
According to Tuttosport, Belotti is a target for a Liverpool side looking to bring in a classic centre-forward to compete with the cerebral Roberto Firmino and the versatile Diogo Jota.
Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are also in the market for one of Serie A’s most reliable frontmen (Corriere Granata).
But could Belotti’s outstanding Torino career end with a whimper, relegated as the goals dry up?
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