As Txiki Begiristain gleefully posed alongside Gabriel Jesus at the Brazilian's Etihad unveiling in 2017, Manchester City's director of football would have done well to predict the winding road his new arrival's City career would take.
Following a stellar start to life under Pep Guardiola, City's bid to regain their status as champions of England had suffered a number of setbacks.
The Catalan's arrival brought plenty of teething problems as the concepts of inverted full-backs and playmaking goalkeepers swept the Premier League, though one man who was struggling to adapt more than most was Sergio Aguero.
While the tale of the tape showed a handsome return of 11 goals in 13 Premier League outings before the turn of the year, Guardiola was yet to be convinced that Aguero would be the man to spearhead his quest to conquer another of Europe's major leagues.
Two separate bans for violent conduct offences also spoke of the frustration being experienced by a player who was usually all smiles.
Needless to say, Pep already had a contingency plan in mind. Having thrashed out a deal to sign Jesus the previous summer, the then-19-year-old made his City entrance in the mid-season window of the 2016/17 campaign.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, Aguero met the competition head-on, adapting his game to conform with Guardiola's demands.
Seldom is a player offered the safety of playing under one manager for their entire career. To become an elite-level player you need to be able to tweak your game depending on who is calling the shots - a task Aguero completed to perfection.
It's often said that the example set by senior pros can prove just as invaluable to youngsters as regular game time and that certainly seems to have been the case with Jesus and his former teammate.
The Brazil international knows exactly how Aguero feels in having Guardiola doubt his credentials as the focal point of City's attack, but kicking his heels on the bench he is not.
It would be remiss to suggest Jesus has reinvented himself as a right-winger - it's a position he's occupied many times before at both international level and with former club Palmeiras - but adding to his glittering array of wide forward options definitely wasn't Guardiola's intention when he signed him all those years ago.
As is customary at this time of year, rumours of incoming and outgoings are rife among all clubs' fanbases. When Jesus arrived at City just shy of five years ago, if you'd said he'd play just a handful of games as a centre forward as we approach the midway point of the 2021/22 campaign, predicting he'd be on the list of potential departures would have been a fair conclusion to make.
Instead, Jesus is considered a vital component of City's frontline, one whose importance to the team is only set to increase when Riyad Mahrez makes his expected departure to represent Algeria at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations.
With talk of a new City deal on the cards for Jesus, the Brazilian's fine performances on the right of City's attack this season look set to be rewarded. The sight of him tirelessly leading the line during Sunday's 4-0 win over Newcastle showed he is not done in his former position either.
Aguero will never be forgotten by City fans and, just days on from his emotional retirement, it's nice to know his influence is still central to Guardiola's ongoing success.
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