Aymeric Laporte and Gabriel Jesus give Pep Guardiola reason to make Man City transfer gamble

If one thing has become clear about Pep Guardiola's Manchester City over the past five-and-a-half years, it's that new signings take time to settle in and find their feet.

Whenever City sign a new player there is understandably much excitement and anticipation among supporters. But as we have seen with many of City's current stars this season, it's often in the second and third years of being at the club that players reach their top level.

The likes of Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo have played crucial roles in City's dominance so far this campaign, but all struggled during their first seasons in Manchester.

Rodri in particular looked overwhelmed and out of his depth during his debut 2019/20 campaign, and even last season he at times looked uncomfortable.

But this year he has arguably been City's most important player, proved by the drop-off in team performances when the holding midfielder is absent from the side.

But maybe, just maybe, Guardiola and City's director of football, Txiki Begiristain, have been shown a way to avoid the season-long adaptation period most of their signings require.

The Blues don't often bring players in during the January transfer window - the imminent signing of Julian Alvarez is something of a rarity - but on the two occasions that it has happened during Guardiola's tenure, things have worked out pretty well.

Gabriel Jesus arrived at the Etihad Stadium midway through Pep's first season at the club, although technically speaking he was signed the previous summer.

The Brazilian striker hit the ground running, scoring seven goals in 10 Premier League appearances to provide a spark to what was an otherwise underwhelming season for City.

The following year he scored 13 goals in 29 league