Jack Grealish would almost certainly have been handed a full day off against Burnley on Saturday were it not for a late injury to Kevin De Bruyne.
The Belgian midfielder has been back to his scintillating best in recent weeks and ran the show once again as Manchester City cruised to a 6-0 win over Vincent Kompany's Burnley in the FA Cup quarter-finals. Erling Haaland had grabbed his customary hat-trick by minute 59, before a Julian Alvarez brace and one more from Cole Palmer secured a trip to Wembley and a last-four clash with Sheffield United.
City were in cruise control when De Bruyne clashed with a Burnley defender, hobbling around the Etihad for a few minutes before Guardiola decided to take him off. Ilkay Gundogan was on the substitutes bench but the City boss instead turned to Grealish.
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So often in recent weeks has Guardiola put his faith in Grealish, the former Aston Villa man starting 12 of the 13 games between his off-the-bench goal against Manchester United and Saturday's brief introduction. The 27-year-old has been one of the first names on the team sheet since the turn of the year and has usually been kept on while changes are made elsewhere.
All of those starts - and almost every appearance since he joined the Blues in 2021 - have been out wide but a cameo in a more central position against Burnley could hint at a future role change. Guardiola has the option to bring on an experienced and natural central midfielder in Gundogan and by no means needed Grealish's creativity in a game City were leading 6-0.
The decision, it seems, could be the start of Guardiola trusting Grealish to operate in the more central areas of the attacking third with which he was so effective at Villa.
The Blues boss may be forced to partly rebuild his midfield in the summer, with the futures of two City regulars both uncertain. Gundogan's contract runs out at the end of June and a lack of noise over a fresh deal has fuelled speculation he may call time on a seven-year stint at the Etihad.
Bernardo Silva, meanwhile, will consider his own future once again this summer. The Portuguese international has made no secret of his desire to explore other projects, and his reported interest in Barcelona is reciprocated by the Spanish side.
The pair have been ever-present between them on the left side of Rodri and losing at least one will force Guardiola to find new solutions - losing both will demand major work. Such a hole can of course be filled with new blood, not least a player like Jude Bellingham who is of interest to just about every club across Europe.
But world-class midfielders don't come cheap and City are under severe scrutiny after being charged by the Premier League for over 100 alleged breaches of financial regulations.
Guardiola may be inclined to work best with what he has, and in Grealish he has a player re-discovering his best form with a proven history of effecting games in more central areas.
How much is seen of Grealish the midfielder between now and June remains unknown, but with Gundogan and Silva still producing the goods, chances are it will be a rarity. The England international has been irresistible out wide in recent weeks and Guardiola will be minded not to disrupt this purple patch by tinkering.
But his decision to put Grealish there in the first place on Saturday hints at a nod to the future, and a new role for the City star going forward.
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