Haaland, Alvarez and Palmer can give Pep Guardiola what he's been looking for at Man City

On February 1, 2017, the future arrived at Manchester City.

City faced West Ham at the London Stadium, way off the pace in the title race but needing a win to boost their bid for a top-four finish. Pep Guardiola's first season in charge wasn't going to plan, but that night in east London was one of the highlights of the campaign.

City thumped the hosts 4-0, with a youthful front-three running the opposition defenders ragged. Leroy Sane (21), Gabriel Jesus (19) and Raheem Sterling (22) put in a terrifying performance, all speed, relentless running and endless changes of directions, flicks and precise passing.

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Sterling had, of course, already been at the club for a year-and-a-half, but Sane and Jesus were new additions that season. In fact, that night Jesus scored his first goal for the Blues, a simple tap-in following an incisive Sane through-ball and an unselfishly squared ball from Sterling.

With Sergio Aguero left on the bench and with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva linking up so well with the attacking trio, it really felt like that frontline was to be the future of City.

Clearly things didn't pan out that way; five years on and all three have left the club. Sane left for Bayern Munich in 2020 after his relationship with Guardiola hit the rocks, while Jesus and Sterling have this summer joined Arsenal and Chelsea, respectively, in search of more regular starting roles.

Jesus is 25 now, Sane 26 and Sterling 27, so in theory, all are a lot closer to the prime of their careers than five years ago. In reality, though, only Sterling has lived up to the expectations that grew back then, even if he was