If their summer transfer business so far is anything to go by, then Manchester City are heading in to the new season with a squad even stronger than last year's.
While Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling - two players who have played important roles in City's success in recent years - will no longer be around, the arrivals of Erling Haaland, Kalvin Phillips, Julian Alvarez and Stefan Ortega will give Pep Guardiola's squad the kind of 'shake-up' the manager believes is key to maintaining high standards.
Another player who will not return in the new season is Fernandinho, after the 37-year-old left the club to return to Brazil when his contract expired.
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While the £42m signing of Phillips from Leeds certainly represents a technical and physical upgrade on the former City skipper, it is going to be much harder for City to replace Fernandinho's role behind the scenes and his leadership off the pitch.
Fernandinho has spoken so passionately about his two-year stint as club captain, following the departure of David Silva in 2020. While he did not get onto the pitch anywhere near as much as he would have liked, he took great pride in acting as a confidant for his teammates and as a leader in the dressing room.
In the latter years of his City career the defensive midfielder was also a key point of reference for many of the young players at the club, including academy players, young first-teamers like Phil Foden and young stars arriving from abroad like Gabriel Jesus. Whether they needed help settling in to Manchester, tactical and technical advice or just someone to listen to them, Dinho was always willing to help.
The Brazilian's role away from the lights of the Etihad Stadium has now been highlighted by a young talent who himself has just left the club. Romeo Lavia recently completed a £10.5m move to Southampton, and is rated so highly by City that the Blues ensured that buy-back and sell-on clauses were included in the deal.
The defensive midfielder made only two senior appearances for City between his arrival in 2020 and his recent move, but he has credited Fernandinho as a major influence on his game and a factor in his improvement thanks to time spent with the Brazilian on the training ground.
"Obviously as a young player, you don’t really pay attention to the little details that make the difference at the highest level," Lavia said. "I think by watching them, especially training with Fernandinho – it helped me a lot to understand more the role of a defensive midfielder and central midfielder."
It's hard to make the case that City will miss Fernandinho on the pitch, but off it it might take a little time - and someone else to step up and take the mantle of mentor and elder statesman - to get over his departure.
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