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.
