Manchester City will start next season in the familiar role of title favourites after refusing to rest on their laurels once again.
A year ago they responded to winning the Premier League by splashing out a British record £100million on Jack Grealish and this time they appear to have done even better business by signing Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian’s £51.1million fee may be barely half of Grealish’s but, in luring one of the hottest properties in the game to the Etihad Stadium, City now have the look of a complete side.
It seems odd to consider the powerhouse striker as the final piece of a jigsaw for Pep Guardiola, given just how strong his side is, but after back-to-back titles without significant input from a specialist centre-forward, that is exactly how he appears.