When Jose Fonte first dropped his transfer bombshell on Southampton he would have been under the impression he was irreplaceable.
Having hardly missed a single Premier League game in the last three seasons Fonte has provided the defensive stability around which much of the club's success has been built.
The captain has also helped Southampton cope with their wave of big-name departures by leading from example and helping maintain team spirit in a rapidly changing dressing room.
But as the want-away Euro 2016 winner watched his teammates take a step towards a Wembley final by beating Liverpool 1-0 in Wednesday's EFL Cup semifinal first leg it may have dawned on the Portuguese defender that he is not so dispensable after all.