Pep Guardiola is addressing last season's concern with two Man City signings

It’s largely been a case of out with the old and in with the new this summer at Manchester City.

There is a sense of evolution every year at the Etihad as Pep Guardiola continues to develop his dynasty, but this summer has felt a little different.

Aymeric Laporte (29), Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan (both 32) have all departed and brought the average age of the squad down somewhat. All three were major cogs in the machine that churned out continual Premier League titles during this era of dominance.

The Treble was won in a single season but it was built across many years. A lot of the experience honed in those previous campaigns that led to the triple crown will not be as readily at hand this time around.

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Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson, Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Kyle Walker are perhaps the only players who could be classed as mainstays, stars who were there in the early stages of Guardiola’s reign.

De Bruyne is out for several months, Stones is sidelined not for the first time in recent years and Walker was at one point on the brink of an exit. Bernardo, 29, has just put pen to paper on a new deal amid intense speculation about his future.

The worry after last season’s historic triumph was whether the squad would have the motivation to go again after essentially winning it all, including that coveted Champions League trophy. After all, it’s not a bad way to bow out and seek a new challenge.

Of course, the drive within an elite athlete is always to go for gold but the risk of not putting in that extra tackle or sprint can be the difference between success and failure at the top.

Guardiola noticed such characteristics back in January during City’s