It's been a strange season for Tottenham Hotspur so far this year.
Ange Postecoglou's side have played some exhilarating football and some turgid football, and while they are currently sitting all the way down in tenth place, they are only three points off Chelsea in third.
Likewise, the performances of individual Spurs stars have been unpredictable this year, with the likes of James Maddison and Son Heung-min looking back to their best one game and totally past it in the next.
What might make it all the more frustrating for fans is that a player sold by former manager José Mourinho is currently outscoring both of them.
Maddison and Son's seasons so far
So, starting with Maddison, and as we already mentioned, the former Leicester City ace has somehow looked both excellent in some games and like a total passenger in others this season.
For example, in the league encounter with Brentford, he scored a goal and earned a 10/10 match rating from Spurs writer Alasdair Gold, but then, against Crystal Palace, he was taken off in the 62nd minute, with journalist Rob Guest awarding him just a 5/10 for his display.
Now, while Son hasn't had as many abysmal showings, the South Korean superstar has struggled to consistently impact games this season as he has in the past.
For example, he's managed to score three goals and provide three assists in his 11 appearances thus far.
Yet, he played in the first half of the defeat to Galatasaray and the full 90s in the losses to Arsenal, Newcastle United, and, most damning of all, Ipswich Town, for which Gold could only award him a 5/10.
Overall, while nobody can question the incredible natural talent of both players, what is also undeniable is that, so far this season, their performances have been too inconsistent, so much so that they're being outscored by a former Spurs ace who has only started nine games this year.
The former Spurs star shining this season
So, let's get straight to the point here: the former Spurs star in question is none other than Christian Eriksen.
The Danish icon joined the Lilywhites from Dutch giants Ajax in the summer of 2013 for just £11.5m, and over the next six-and-a-half years, would make 305 appearances for the team, in which he scored 69 goals and provided 88 assists, equating to a goal involvement on average every 1.94 games.
However, in January 2020, with Mourinho at the helm, the Middlefart-born dynamo swapped North London for Milan, as he joined Inter in a deal worth just under £17m.
The following few years would see him win Serie A with the Nerazzurri, come perilously close to losing his life on the pitch during Euro 2020, return to professional football under Thomas Frank at Brentford and then secure a free move to Manchester United in July 2022.
At Old Trafford, the "incredible" midfielder, as dubbed by Frank, has probably played more than most were expecting him to, as in his first campaign, he made 44 appearances, in which he racked up an impressive haul of two goals and ten assists
Last season saw him take up a bit more of a squad role, as he ended up making just 28 appearances, 14 of which were off the bench, so he only scored one goal and provided just three assists.
However, the start of this campaign saw Erik ten Hag hand the 32-year-old a significant amount of game time before he was sacked, and as things stand, the 138-capped international has found the back of the net on four occasions and even provided three assists for good measure.
That means the former Spurs star is averaging a goal involvement once every 1.85 games and seems to be in better goalscoring touch than Maddison and Son.
Ultimately, while Eriksen is undoubtedly edging closer to retirement, his form this season has been seriously impressive, and we can't help but wonder what he would be able to do under a coach like Postecoglou.