Gabriel Jesus will get the chance to prove he can be Manchester City's main striker this season, as he starts today against Norwich City.
Pep Guardiola has made five changes to the side that suffered an opening day defeat to Tottenham, with Jesus coming into the XI along with Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte, Rodri and Bernardo Silva.
With transfer deadline day fast approaching, City are still yet to agree a deal with Spurs for want-away striker Harry Kane.
The champions appear to be putting all their efforts into prising Kane away from north London, so if a deal isn't struck then it's likely that Guardiola will stick with his current striking options.
It means Jesus has a huge opportunity to stake his claim for the number nine role.
The 24-year-old Brazilian joined City in January 2017, but in four-and-a-half years has been unable to nail down a regular starting role. Being understudy to Sergio Aguero played no small part in that, but now that the City legend has departed, Jesus needs to kick on and show that he can produce on a consistent basis.
There's no reason that he can't - 51 goals and 21 assists in 132 league appearances is an impressive return for a player who has never started more than 22 Premier League games in a season, while a simple eye test shows he has bags of talent.
Guardiola has never been short of praise for Jesus, describing his role in City's recent title triumphs as "incredibly key". He clearly has that striker's instinct that can't be taught on the training ground and, with several years to go until he reaches his peak, that will only improve with experience.
It's debatable whether Jesus is best suited to the role of wide forward or number nine, but a couple of goals today against newly-promoted Norwich would put him in pole position to become City's number one marksman.
Do you think Gabriel Jesus will make a statement today? Should he be City's first choice striker? Follow our new City Fan Brands Writer Alex Brotherton on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
