In basic terms, the reigning Premier League champions' purchase of a former PFA Footballer of the Year, for a club record fee, was clearly a huge statement of intent. But when Manchester City completed the signing of Riyad Mahrez in the summer, there was a legitimate question about his precise role in Pep Guardiola's starting XI.
After all, City had just won the Premier League with a record 100 points, courtesy of a side based around two outright wingers, Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling, stretching the play. This was arguably the most fundamental part of City's attacking approach, and when Guardiola occasionally played Bernardo Silva -- a left-footed midfielder, always coming inside -- on the right flank, more for the sake of rotation than tactics, City's attacking wasn't quite so dynamic.