Man City have to ask unexpected question of £31m signing after shock call-up

May's FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace is a blot on the copybook for Manchester City, but particularly for 20-year-old Nico O'Reilly. That is the only one of the previous 19 games he has started for his club that has ended with him on the losing side.

O'Reilly is becoming something of a lucky charm for the Blues. After 22 starts in all competitions, they have been beaten just twice, and one of them is the Carabao Cup reverse to Tottenham last October, which feels like it shouldn't really count.

You wouldn't put it all down to O'Reilly, but there is certainly an argument for the academy graduate being the kind of player who makes those around him better as well. For one so young, his game intelligence is excellent, which is why he has gone from promising attacking midfielder to England left-back in the space of 10 months.

His call-up as an injury replacement for Reece James for games against Wales and Latvia is another indication of his rapid progress in this calendar year. Last season, he started his seventh game for City on April 6. This season, he brought up that landmark on Sunday.

It has taken O'Reilly just 10 starts in the Premier League to force his way into Thomas Tuchel's plans, and there is certainly a vacancy at left-back in this England squad. There is no reason he can't have one eye on the World Cup next summer.

To do that, he will need more experience, and that might be the biggest question mark over the next few months. After all, O'Reilly still insists he isn't really a full-back and his stint of filling in on the left was supposed to have ended with the £31million signing of Rayan Ait-Nouri.

That looked to be the case early in the season. The Algerian started the first three games and when he was