Being outperformed by Alexis Sanchez is not a good look for anybody right now – least of all Lautaro Martinez.
There may not have been any supporters at the Stadio San Paolo last Saturday night but there were plenty of people watching the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg between Napoli and Inter at home – and not just fans of the two teams involved.
Plenty of Barcelona fans also tuned in to watch Lautaro take to the field for the first time since their club solidified their interest in the forward.
As reported by Goal in April, Barca are willing to offer the Argentine a contract worth €10 million (£9m/$11m) a year. The only issue remains the transfer fee.
Lautaro has a €111m (£97m$121m) buyout clause but it expires on July 15, which is problematic for cash-strapped Barca, given they still need to sell players just to meet their budgetary requirements for 2019-20.
Even if the Catalans manage to lower the fee by persuading Inter to accept some players in return, paying such an exorbitant amount of money for a footballer in the current financial climate is unlikely to sit easily with many Barca followers.
At a time when even world champions Liverpool balked at the idea of paying £47.5m ($59m) for Timo Werner, the notion of paying nearly twice as much money to sign Lautaro looks reckless.
Lautaro's performance against Napoli certainly didn't do anything to alter that perception.
Barca fans wanted to be convinced that the 22-year-old is worthy of such a colossal investment, while their Inter counterparts were seeking assurances that his head hadn't been turned by all of the transfer talk.
Both groups were left disappointed.
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Lautaro looked nothing like the dynamic forward who scored against Barcelona back in October before going on to net in four consecutive Champions League games.
It wasn't just that he lacked a goal threat – he managed just one shot on target in 72 minutes on the pitch – it was that he failed dismally to get into the game.
Inter may have dominated for long periods, with January signing Christian Eriksen turning in arguably his best performance to date for the Nerazzurri, but Lautaro was largely anonymous.
Indeed, he had fewer touches of the ball (20) than any other player to have started the game, including the two goalkeepers, and still managed to lose possession five times. Of the 16 Inter players to feature in Naples, only Stefan Sensi played fewer passes than Lautaro (nine).
He didn't contribute defensively, either. Lautaro is a tireless worker who is usually excellent in the air but he didn't win a single header or tackle.
However, even aside from the stats, the most damning aspect of his display was that his replacement, the much-maligned Alexis, offered more in attack than Lautaro during his 18 minutes on the field, with the Chilean even going close to netting the winner that would have put Inter into the final.
As it was, Inter were held to a 1-1 draw that saw their hosts progress to a showdown in Rome with Juventus that they would win to dispel all doubts surrounding Gennaro Gattuso's coaching credentials.
Antonio Conte, though, has been left with more questions than answers.
The Inter boss was entitled to argue that his side had deserved to go through, given the way in which they dictated the game in Naples, but he dodged questions on the bluntness of his attack.
Lautaro and Romelu Lukaku have played a pivotal role in Inter's promising first season under Conte, having almost immediately forged a formidable partnership following the Belgian's arrival from Manchester United last summer.
However, they failed to connect at all against Napoli. Of course, any player can be forgiven for having a bad game, particularly after the three-month lay-off caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
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Lautaro, though, hasn't been playing well for some time now. Indeed, he's now gone six games without scoring in all competitions, with his last goal coming against Cagliari on January 26. There hasn’t even been an assist in Serie A in 2020.
Unsurprisingly, his poor form is being linked with the speculation surrounding his future, which intensified in February when Lionel Messi spoke so excitedly about his compatriot's potential arrival at Camp Nou.
"Ringhio (Gennaro Gattuso) in the final, Lautaro in Barcelona," read the headline on the front page of the Gazzetta dello Sport last Sunday.
Inter fans will be hoping that's not true, in every sense. They've not given up hope on holding on to Lautaro, given Barca's cash-flow crisis. If the Catalans can't find the money, Inter will give the forward a new contract.
However, if a transfer becomes inevitable, the Nerazzurri will be relying on Lautaro to remain focused on the task at hand.
Ahead of this weekend's resumption of play in Serie A, Inter trail leaders Juventus by nine points, and second-placed Lazio by eight, but Conte's men have a game in hand, which they will play against Sampdoria on Sunday evening.
The Nerazzurri need a win. They need Lautaro back at his best. Or at least playing better than Alexis Sanchez!