Manchester City are embarking on a new chapter after their historic treble under Pep Guardiola.
City have reached football utopia after adding their fifth Premier League title in six years, the FA Cup and the Champions League to their collection. Guardiola and City finally have the monkey off their back after years of pursuing European glory.
The challenge for City now is to remain hungry. That may sound simple but only a few months ago, Guardiola felt his players had lost their appetite for success.
After achieving such a feat, there could be churn in the City squad this summer. Several high-profile players could be on the move as Guardiola bids to freshen things up.
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Aymeric Laporte, Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva have all been the subject of speculation for various reasons. Guardiola has always insisted he would never keep a player against their will, should there be a suitable offer on the table.
That has been evidenced by the exits of Leroy Sane, Ferran Torres, Raheem Sterling and Joao Cancelo. All, perhaps bar the latter, left the club of their own volition rather than City's.
In the case of Cancelo, it was a huge gamble to let him leave. Left-back has been a problem position throughout the Guardiola era and the shift in tactics came at a critical period of the season.
City have managed to cover that role using Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and Bernardo, with Guardiola starting the Champions League final with four recognised centre-backs in his team. Of course, it is more nuanced than that but it's a firm shift from the City of old.
With that in mind, reports that Kyle Walker is considering his future are intriguing. The Englishman struggled for a place in the team directly after the World Cup following Rico Lewis' emergence.
However, the 33-year-old appeared to win back the faith of Guardiola, earning his spot back and playing an integral role in their run to the treble. Perhaps the only surprise in City's Champions League XI was his omission.
Maybe Guardiola felt City needed the physicality of Akanji and Ake ahead of Walker's pure speed. Either way, it is something that won't have gone down well in the Sheffield-born defender's camp.
A return to hometown Sheffield United has always been mooted by Walker before his career is out. But with one year left on his deal and the Blades' financial struggles, any deal this summer would be very difficult to thrash out.
Instead, Bayern Munich have become Walker's most likely destination. If indeed Walker is considering his future, he could have a credible buyer in Bayern, who of course took Cancelo on loan this season.
But with City already short at left-back, Guardiola needs to be careful not to stretch his squad too thin. Lewis' potential is undoubted but he is still only just emerging as a first-team player.
For City to sanction the sales of Walker and Cancelo in the same window would be a massive gamble. There seems little way back for the latter but Walker could still have a future at the Etihad Stadium.
Similarly, although Walker will be disappointed not to have played more, players who leave City have rarely thrived. Looking back at some of the names mentioned earlier, Sterling, Sane and Torres have all struggled since leaving the Etihad Stadium.
Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko are perhaps the only players who have moved on from Guardiola in recent years and impressed. It has not been smooth sailing for others.
So, with City potentially needing to replace Gundogan, Bernardo and Laporte, City do not want to change too much too quickly. Of course, refreshing the squad is vital to maintain a competitive edge but Walker does not need to be discarded.
It may be better for both parties to ride the summer out and start afresh. There is no guarantee Guardiola will persist with the same tactics next season.
For City, they may need to break their golden rule and dig their heels in with Walker. It could be the best thing for the right-back too.
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