Since he took the helm at struggling Middlesbrough in November 2013, the subject of Aitor Karanka's relationship with Jose Mourinho has cropped up seemingly every time he has gone in front of the nation's media.
Their friendship is well-documented. From the moment Mourinho picked a semi-retired Karanka's name from nowhere to be his right-hand man at Real Madrid, the pair have developed a relationship, both professionally and away from the touchline, which has proved hugely beneficial to both.
As the S.S. Bernabéu began to break apart and sink in the final months of Mourinho's tenure in Madrid, it was Karanka who, more often than not, faced the media in The Special One's self-enforced absence.
When Karanka was left without a job following The Happy One's return to Chelsea, it was Mourinho who encouraged him to head to Teesside, the scene of one of his original Blues team's heaviest defeats.
And last season, in the League and FA Cups, the advice flowed both ways; Karanka giving Mourinho the lowdown on Derby County, Watford and Bolton Wanderers with Mourinho advising Karanka before Boro's famous 2-0 victory over then-Premier League champions Manchester City.
This does not even take into account the growing list of talented young players sent from London to Middlesbrough on loan, benefiting both managers. Kenneth Omeruo, Tomáš Kalas and most notably Patrick Bamford have all made the 250-mile journey North, won the hearts of the Boro faithful on their way to Wembley and returned to Stamford Bridge as better, more promising, more valuable players.
Karanka is not the first to be given the title
Clearly, the links between the two are many, but can Karanka be considered the heir to José's luxuriously-gilded throne?
The throne has had many pretenders; Brendan Rodgers, Steve Clarke and André Villas-Boas have all worked under Mourinho at some point and turned to management in their own right with varying degrees of success.
Interestingly, all three of these managers have seen their relationship with the Chelsea boss sour in recent years, while his bond with Karanka seems to have gone from strength to strength with the two still in weekly contact.
Any conclusions that are to be drawn must be put into context - Karanka is just 18 months into his managerial career and, though the transformation he has masterminded at the Riverside has been remarkable, it is far from complete as Boro remain in England's second tier for another season at least.
Karanka has tested his mettle against England's best
Yet, it must be said that he has had a good start, particularly against the Premier League big boys. Boro came out of the 2014/15 season with a very respectable record against the Champions League-qualified trio of Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal with a win, draw, and loss apiece.
The City result drew more headlines than any other on Teesside this year, and is a prime example of Karanka's Mourinhification - a perfect away performance; dogged in defence, clinical on the counter and with a fair slice of favourably dubious refereeing calls.
However, the next round at the Emirates proved why Karanka is far from the finished article, with his side still truly to find the balance between defensive stability and attacking flair.
With individual lapses of concentration gifting two goals to an out-of-form Olivier Giroud, Boro never looked like getting back into it. Lee Tomlin had left Vincent Kompany needing a cup of tea, a blanket and a long sit down after his ordeal at the Etihad but he was far from his best against the Gunners and Boro were left totally blunted as a result.
Bamford was isolated, Jelle Vossen anonymous and even Albert Adomah, one of the season's prime performers, looked to be waiting for the final whistle from the moment Giroud found the net for the sucker-punch second time.
It is this level of inconsistency on the big stage which eventually cost Boro at the vital end of the season. Against Norwich City towards the end of the season, Karanka had marshalled his troops to a massive away win under the floodlights, with Boro under the cosh for 90 minutes but never conceding so much as a shot on target.
But a month or so later, they were totally outplayed by the same team at Wembley, with individual mistakes again serving to underline a total lack of creativity in attack. It was a rabbit-in-the-headlights performance which travelling Teessiders had become used to in the do-or-die away games, with table-topping clashes at the eventual top two Bournemouth and Watford heralding barely a Boro chance between them.
In these terms, then, it would be a stretch to label Karanka as the new Mourinho, and the Spaniard clearly has plenty to think about ahead of his second full season in management.
Despite this, there are plenty of reasons why he has been labelled as one of the most exciting managerial prospects in England, and you would only have to talk to a Boro fan to find out why.
Could Karanka return to Spain?
There has been talk in recent months of Karanka perhaps heading home to the Basque country, with worries that he could be tempted to take the Athletic Bilbao job in his homeland. And, while many a tear would surely be shed into the industrial Tees, one gets the feeling that Boro fans would not resent Karanka for abandoning ship, such is the high esteem in which he is held.
The way he conducts himself away from the touchline, the clear passion he holds for the club on it, the sense of class and pride he has returned to the club in little over a year and a half - if Mayor of Middlesbrough Dave Budd was in the business of giving out knighthoods, we would surely be considering the title 'Sir Aitor' by now, with his grand Boro project still in its infancy.
This rapport with the home crowd is one which Mourinho has mastered at Stamford Bridge, while neither man has been afraid to criticise the home fans when the situation called for it.
While Mourinho risked the ire of the Chelsea faithful to try and maintain the gloss of the Steven Gerrard Farewell Tour, Karanka bemoaned a negative atmosphere at the Riverside, contrasting the mutterings and moanings of 'Typical Boro' at every mistake with the boisterous, and above all numerous, fans who have made the journeys to away games around the country.
By the end of the season, though, Karanka had overseen such a masterful transformation at the club that there was no question of his side having anything other than Teesside's fullest backing by the time the play-offs rolled around.
In the semi-final second-leg victory over Brentford, Karanka built the situation superbly, to the point that the tie looked as good as won at kickoff.
The atmosphere at the Riverside was unlike anything seen at the Riverside since the famous UEFA Cup games of 2005/06, and it was largely down to the manager. Answering his call for solidarity in the stands, 33,000 Boro fans packed the stadium, with the Bees' travelling contingent dwarfed and drowned out from first whistle to last.
As if the weight of the occasion needed drilling further into the players' heads as they took to the field, their manager had a motivational message proclaimed over the tannoy system - but such was the noise from the stands, heralding the displayed message "#BELIEVE", it was barely heard.
Karanka has given Middlesbrough its pride back
And this was almost purely down to Aitor Karanka. The early financial water-bailing work from predecessor Tony Mowbray, the constant, devotional bank-rolling from chairman Steve Gibson, were all brought together by the Spaniard to transform not just a club, but a town, into one of belief, passion and pride once again.
Pride not just from the fans, but amongst the players as well. Fan favourite George Friend has spoken of his love for the area and its people countless times, while the sheer emotion of the occasion of England U21s' win over Germany at the Riverside was evident all over the face of Nunthorpe-born nephew of Steve, centre-half Ben Gibson.
The togetherness of the current Boro squad is distinctly Mourinho-ish. Jose values the collective over any individual and his commitment to the 'us against the world' siege mentality is well-documented.
This can be seen mirrored at the Riverside; when Karanka and Tomlin swept up the Championship Manager and Player of the Month awards in January, the manager insisted that the trophies [below] were photographed with the entire squad - every member of his team and back-room staff is valued, credit is shared and the spotlight is never allowed to shine too brightly on any individual.
Karanka's man management is as good as anybody's in the Football League, and it is a quality which is a vitally important weapon in Mourinho's formidable armoury; though credit-sharing may not come quite so naturally to him, as Manuel Pellegrini would attest.
His biggest test so far
Clearly, it is too early in Karanka's career to truly compare him to arguably the world's best head coach. However, the signs are encouraging, and there is a feeling among the Boro hierarchy and the fans that they could have a special manager on their hands.
The coming season will reveal much about Karanka's true quality. With his front-line decimated by the end of loan deals, he has a serious rebuilding job on his hands, and it could be said that this is one of the truest tests of a manager's ability.
Sir Alex Ferguson assembled many a great squad in his time at Old Trafford, but it was the task of one reshuffle too many which saw him bring his career to a close at the expense of David Moyes' credibility.
Karanka has not built a great squad by any stretch of the imagination, but he has built a good one - now, he must pick up the pieces and make it better.
Do that, and the apprentice can finally go head-to-head with the master in the Promised Land of the Premier League.