Manchester City players pose ahead of the pre-season friendly match between Manchester City and Team K League
Manchester City are currently playing fixtures in Asia during the club's summer tour
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A summer that was always going to be pivotal is becoming ever more so as Manchester City brace themselves for a hectic end to the transfer window.
The Blues are in Community Shield action in 10 days' time when they take on Arsenal in Cardiff, before beginning their Premier League campaign a week later and there is still work for the club to do in the transfer market.
The club record arrival of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest was wrapped up early on but question marks remain around plenty of other positions as we enter the final few weeks of the transfer window.
Director of football Hugo Viana and manager Enzo Maresca are working together for the first time as City attempt to modify the squad and aim to hit the ground running in their new era following the departure of Pep Guardiola.
The World Cup was always going to have a knock-on effect on the transfer market this summer and City, along with most other clubs, have plenty of business to do.
Savinho and Tijjani Reijnders have been linked with exits. Tottenham are keen on the former and Nottingham Forest have reportedly made the latter a key target this summer. Maresca has stopped short of saying either will be part of his plans next season and the pair could fetch a combined £120million.
James Trafford is also set to depart with Leeds United closing in on a £40million move for the City 'keeper, while there remains uncertainty around Rodri amid interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Those exits will necessitate arrivals. City need a new number two keeper with Marseille veteran Geronimo Rulli a target and the Blues continue to work on a deal for Lille prospect Ayyoub Bouaddi, while the Blues have been linked with Chelsea winger Pedro Neto who would reportedly fetch a fee of around £70million.
The prospect of signing the Portugal international has divided opinion among many Blues fans. While the 26-year-old would be a step up on Savinho, the potential pricetag and his injury record mean the jury would be out should the Chelsea man arrive at the Etihad.
It's hard to suggest Neto would get into the first XI and while he would add depth to the squad, on the face of it it's not the move that would propel City closer to champions Arsenal.
Maresca will of course know Neto well and he is clearly a talented player with the ability to impact games and judgement can only really be made down the line should he arrive in Manchester.
But that prospective deal feels a crucial one for Viana as he approaches the end of his third window at City. The 43-year-old has not been backwards in coming forwards in the market and the January additions of Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo should be factored in to the thinking when assessing the summer window given the two were essentially signed ahead of time.
City have an XI capable of challenging the best at home and abroad, the challenge for Viana is to make the leap from contenders to champions in the Premier League while treading the balance of finding the right signings at the right price.
The Blues could easily rake in £160m from the sales of Savinho, Reijnders and Trafford. Spending that money wisely and effectively is the challenge.