Pep Guardiola waxed lyrical about Jude Bellingham when the Borussia Dortmund sensation locked horns with his star-studded Manchester City squad earlier in the campaign. In modern terms, with so much cloak-and-dagger put forward by managers, it was virtually an admission of his future interest.
Who can blame him? Bellingham is one of the most gifted young players on the planet and, similarly to his former Dortmund teammate Erling Haaland, there will be a (dis)orderly queue for his signature when the teenager opts to seek out a fresh challenge away from the Bundesliga.
City will put their own case while other elite clubs such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG and some from closer to home will not give up without a chequebook stand-off. Ultimately, finer details such as money might not even be a telling factor in where Bellingham wants to scale greater heights after his time at a proven production line.
