The reported decision of Kyle Walker to leave Manchester City means that the arrival of Josko Gvardiol would be even more important.
Despite the club tabling a contract offer, Walker could be set to call time on his six-year City career having won every title there is to win, opting to join Bayern Munich with a year left on his current deal.
With Pep Guardiola seemingly moving towards a first-choice defence without full-backs, Walker may not have played as much next season, and he will also be aware of the upcoming Euro 2024 tournament and the competition for right-back places with England.
If City can replace Walker with Gvardiol, it wouldn't be a like-for-like swap as the Croatian is a centre-back. However, it would strengthen City's options for the four-centre-back approach and Gvardiol is handily 12 years younger than Walker.