Kevin De Bruyne has changed Man City transfer priority for Pep Guardiola

It speaks volumes for Manchester City that they have been able to routinely overcome a previously unthinkable scenario while missing Kevin De Bruyne from their star-studded dressing room.

The sensational Belgium captain picked up an injury just 23 minutes into their latest Premier League title defence and there was a collective gasp when he made his way down the Turf Moor tunnel on the opening night. Despite that setback, it has been business as usual for the treble-winners so far.

Any side on the planet would miss De Bruyne and the unique attributes he provides. However, even without the line-breaking forages and trademark assists, City have continued to do what they do best; win.

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There is nobody quite like De Bruyne available to Pep Guardiola right now, but results have proven he might well be replaceable after all. That was certainly far from the case when they were forced to cope without Rodri during his early-season suspension. In short, they were unable to do so.

City - minus De Bruyne - are one point behind Arsenal at the Premier League summit and once again on the verge of Champions League progression. They finally went all the way in that competition last season and few would bet against them being frontrunners to defend their European crown, either.

De Bruyne is not fit enough to return for the action-packed December and Christmas schedule, but the mercurial Belgian has taken another step closer to first-team action and that could come at the ideal time for Guardiola and the club's mid-season transfer plans.

"If he said January, it will be January," said Guardiola