There will be four new faces on Manchester City's pre-season tour, four new squad numbers, three key players from last season missing, and there will also have to be a new captain.
Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Kalvin Phillips and Stefan Ortega will make their first appearances in a City shirt a week today when they face Club America in Houston, in a fixture that will give some indication of how Pep Guardiola plans to send out his side this season.
Pre-season is primarily for building fitness and testing out new ideas, so the system used in the US fixtures against Club America and Bayern Munich won't necessarily be the same one that will challenge for the Premier League title, but there will certainly be clues over the approach Guardiola is looking for.
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Another issue to be decided before the start of the season is that of the captaincy, with a new club captain required following Fernandinho's exit this summer.
City have used a captain's group for a number of seasons now, with players and backroom staff voting for five 'captains' within the squad, with the player receiving most votes being named the club captain.
After Fernandinho's departure, Ilkay Gundogan is currently the highest-ranked 'captain' in the squad, with Ruben Dias next and Kevin De Bruyne behind him after being second-choice in 2020/21. Kyle Walker and Raheem Sterling have also worn the armband at times.
If Gundogan steps up to be captain, with one year left on his contract, Dias would be in line for the vice-captaincy, and De Bruyne back up to third. Sterling is bound for Chelsea, so Walker may be a permanent member of the leadership group, with one new addition required.
And after his comments on Tuesday following his new contract, Rodri feels an obvious choice to take the step up within the dressing room that he has already said he is ready for.
“Every year you are older and have more experience, young players are arriving,” Rodri explains.
“I have tried to be a leader since I came. You have big names in the locker room who have to do that job, but now I feel I can do that. I put that responsibility on myself, to try and push every player to be better every day. That is the only way to succeed.
“It is not an easy task, but it is something I have to do. I feel it is my role in the team, but I still have to improve to manage these situations."
With a new deal until 2027, only Kalvin Phillips has a longer contract at City. Phillips may have leadership attributes in future, but won't be given a captaincy role straight away, while Dias is another contracted until 2027.
Rodri has been at City for three years, and has worked closely with Fernandinho. He is an undroppable player in big games, and will feature in most fixtures throughout the season while playing a crucial role. He led by example with his performances and consistency last season, so ticks plenty of boxes for a future captain.
Gundogan, Dias or De Bruyne may be in line for the official title of club captain, however it is Rodri who deserves a promotion to the leadership group with a view to becoming a future leader within the next five years.
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