Manchester City always looked likely to add another new face before the transfer window was through, and that expectation has become reality with their £55.5million move for Jeremy Doku.
While the arrival of Josko Gvardiol has given Pep Guardiola another versatile defensive option and Mateo Kovacic could replace aspects of Ilkay Gundogan's game, City looked short of wide options following Riyad Mahrez's move to Al Ahli.
Despite being phased out of Guardiola's first-choice lineup, Mahrez made several notable contributions to last season's treble win, including a brace in a huge 4-2 victory over Tottenham and a hat-trick in April's FA Cup semi-final win against Sheffield United.
The prospect of City failing to replace their winger felt remote, and Rennes' 21-year-old speedster Doku is the man they have turned to.
Here, More Than A Game profiles the Belgian and asks whether he can bring something different to the Etihad Stadium.
VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE
It's no secret that Guardiola likes his teams to control every aspect of a game.
While Bernardo Silva's tactical discipline has helped him emerge as Guardiola's favourite pick on the right flank, Jack Grealish's ability to retain possession has seen him win the boss' trust on the left.
Explaining how defensive concerns inform City's in-possession approach in 2018, Guardiola told Sky Sports: "When you lose the ball, you always have to be in the right position to avoid the counter-attack. If not, you cannot play in that way."
Guardiola's insistence on control has sometimes been to the detriment of players like Phil Foden, a more dynamic dribbler who dares to take risks.
"Phil has this aggression to go," Guardiola said following a 3-3 draw with Newcastle United last August. "If Jack plays there or Riyad or Bernardo play on the right, they are calmer and they help us to be all together, and when we lose the ball, we are there and they [the opponents] cannot run."
Silva (86.2 percent), Grealish (84.4 percent) and Mahrez (83 percent) all managed a better pass completion rate than Foden (81.5 percent) across all competitions last term, but Mahrez (5.52 percent) was the only one of that trio to better Foden's 4.82 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes.
A little variety can often go a long way. Raheem Sterling's blistering pace and runs to the far post were prized by Guardiola for several seasons, and had all gone to plan this summer, perhaps Foden would have replicated that role as City's more explosive wideman.
However, Kevin De Bruyne's hamstring injury may grant Foden more opportunities to play centrally, which he did to devastating effect in Saturday's 1-0 win over Newcastle, creating seven chances from open play including his assist for Julian Alvarez's goal.
City, then, have been searching for a winger capable of providing something different, and in Doku, they may just have found one.
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