The future of Ryan Giggs may still lie away from Old Trafford despite the tantalising reminder of his talent on Tuesday night in the Stadio delle Alpi.
The Welshman's 40-minute cameo against Juventus included the kind of goal guaranteed to attract attention throughout Europe. However, it is in Italy, specifically the blue half of Milan, where interest in the 29-year-old is highest.
The Inter Milan president, Massimo Moratti, has already declared his intention to bid for the winger in the summer and the United chief executive, Peter Kenyon, has refused to state whether any bid would be dismissed out of hand.
Rumours of a potential swap-deal involving the highly-rated Brazilian striker Adriano have now surfaced, and the speculation seems sure to persist until the summer, particularly as Alex Ferguson has yet to decide how important Giggs remains in his plans.
Giggs has already admitted to suffering the longest form dip of his career and, before Tuesday's stunning effort, a sizeable section of United's support was becoming increasingly frustrated at his glaring inconsistency, highlighted by the terrible FA Cup miss against Arsenal when he showed exceptional skill to beat two Gunners defenders, only to blaze his shot over when faced with an empty net.
Even the manager's public praise for Tuesday night's effort - "European nights have never been a problem for Ryan" - raise a question mark over Ferguson's contentment with domestic efforts in league and cup.
Having admonished virtually his entire squad for a collective loss of appetite after last season's barren campaign, failure to land the Premiership trophy or the Champions League will leave Ferguson with little alternative other than to administer major corrective surgery.
One of United's established stars would be almost certain to depart, and while recent history suggests Ferguson's relationship with David Beckham remains fractious, at best, the England skipper's performances suggest he plays a more vital role in the side than Giggs currently does.
Then it would be down to Inter financing the right deal. For all their wealth, United are acutely aware of the downturn in transfer values and while the possibility of raising £20 million for Giggs might be on the optimistic side, they certainly will not want a repeat of the farce which the Jaap Stam deal has become and are likely to seek a hefty up-front payment to conclude any move involving an Italian side.
Understandably, the Welshman preferred to concentrate on his on-field performance and particularly the wonder goal which saw him beat three Juventus defenders after a 40-yard burst before firing a right-footed shot beyond Gigi Buffon.
"It was a great goal," he admitted. "I intercepted the pass and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made a great run to take the defender away. I saw Montero coming so I just knocked it past him and I was pleased to see it go in.
"It is always nice to score a good goal at a place like this."
Giggs will spend the rest of the week having intensive treatment on the thigh injury which forced him off as a "precaution" just after half-time.
Along with Mikael Silvestre, Wes Brown and Paul Scholes, Giggs is struggling to recover fitness in time to face Liverpool in Sunday's League Cup final.
Diego Forlan will miss three weeks after damaging ankle ligaments in the challenge with Ciro Ferrara which brought Giggs' arrival.
Guardian Service
