It was very possible that Nathan Ake wouldn't even have been a Manchester City player this season, had Chelsea met his asking price.
If that £50m figure had been met, and City had found a replacement, then Ake could have been starting the campaign at Stamford Bridge alongside Raheem Sterling, rather than facing another season scrapping for minutes as City's fourth-choice central defender.
However, it's a sign of how quickly things can change in football that Ake now finds himself in a position where he could be City's first defender on the teamsheet when they travel to West Ham next week for the Premier League opener, through a mixture of good form, bad form and bad luck in the Blues' back line.
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With Aymeric Laporte injured until September at least, and John Stones unavailable for the pre-season tour after not meeting US entry requirements, Ake found himself with an opportunity in pre-season with two chances to impress Pep Guardiola alongside Ruben Dias.
In the first game, Dias was absent with illness, and Ake did reasonably against Club America, acting as the senior centre-back next to Luke Mbete. He was culpable for Club America's route-one equaliser, which was far too easy, but responded with a good performance for the rest of that game.
Then, with Dias back against Bayern Munich, Ake benefitted from having a more experienced head alongside him, and impressed fans with his all-action display in Green Bay, keeping Serge Gnabry and Thomas Muller quiet.
And against Liverpool in the Community Shield, Ake was rewarded with a start as Stones remained on the bench, and he came away from the King Power Stadium as the centre-back with the momentum and form on his side. Ake was brilliant against Roberto Firmino and Luis Diaz, putting his body in the way of everything and standing out with some good interceptions and last-ditch tackles.
He was unlucky to see his headed touch on Trent Alexander-Arnold's curling effort take the ball out of reach of Ederson rather than away from goal, and it was Dias at fault for Liverpool's two late winners — handling the ball for Mo Salah's penalty and leaving Darwin Nunez unmarked to make the game safe.
With Dias perhaps needing more time to find form and Stones' only pre-season action coming with the under-23s in Croatia, Ake has somehow emerged as the in-form centre-back ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
He may not stay as first-choice for much longer, especially when Laporte recovers from injury, but he would deserve a start at West Ham next week. And his defensive improvements in July are encouraging if Guardiola wants him to cover at left-back, too.
In Houston, Ake said he was 100 per cent happy to still be at City and was determined to fight for his place this season. The early evidence is that he's ready to put his money where his mouth is.
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