Despite there being less than two weeks of the transfer window remaining, the Harry Kane saga is still rumbling on.
With Tottenham Hotspur reportedly holding out for their £150million asking price and Manchester City yet to reach it, there's a real possibility that Kane won't arrive at the Etihad Stadium this summer.
But if there's one word that sums up City's transfer strategy in recent years, it's 'preparation'. Pep Guardiola, Txiki Begiristain and the rest of the City hierarchy will have a contingency plan for such an event.
While no one knows exactly what that entails, here at Man City Fan Brands towers we've got opposing views on what plan B should be.
Alex Brotherton: If it ain't broke...
Oh how fickle football fans can be.
Less than six months ago, everyone was singing the praises of City's false-nine system as they ran away with the Premier League, retained the Carabao Cup, reached an FA Cup semi-final and qualified for their first-ever Champions League final.
Now, having opened the season with two blanks and two defeats, signing a striker is suddenly the magical potion that will cure all ills.
Admittedly, City didn't go into last season expecting to play largely without a number nine.
Unforeseen circumstances - including injuries to Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus as well as a poor start to the campaign - dictated that City switch tact, and wow did it work.
City scored 83 goals in the Premier League last year, less than in previous seasons but ten more then second-highest scorers Manchester United. They did this, by and large, playing without a recognised striker.
In replacing a striker with a midfielder, Guardiola turned a side that before would simply out-score opponents into one that suffocated them into submission.
City controlled games like never before last season, opting for possession and defensive solidity over gung-ho attack. When fighting on four fronts, it's a much more sensible approach. Why score five when you can hog the ball and score two?
It's no coincidence that City were vastly improved in Europe when they had an extra pair of legs in midfield. For years, City played an out-and-out striker and were overrun in the middle by teams on the continent.
And if they want to play with a more traditional striker from time to time, then Jesus and Ferran Torres are more than capable of filling the role.
But don't mistake this line of thought for naivety; yes, of course Kane would improve City's attack. Yes, City have looked a little toothless up front for a while now and, without Aguero, Guardiola's squad lacks an attacker with true goal-scoring instincts.
But is bringing in a striker of such vital importance that, should Daniel Levy flat out refuse to do business with City in the next week, the club should opt to buy someone else inevitably inferior to both Kane and Erling Haaland (who is staying at Borussia Dortmund for at least another season)?
City are at a level now where they shouldn't be required to settle for second best and their quest to find a new striker should be no different.
Dom Farrell: Get a striker at all costs
In his book Pep Confidential, which charts Guardiola's first season at Bayern Munich in 2013/14, author Marti Perarnau recalls Guardiola being asked whether flinging on strikers Claudio Pizarro and Mario Mandzukic and pumping balls into the box to secure a win from behind at Stuttgart represented a betrayal of the coach's celebrated principles.
"What the f*** are you talking about, mate? We needed to win the game," was Guardiola's similarly no-nonsense response after Pizarro equalised and Thiago Alcantara secured a 2-1 win in stoppage time.
Despite his reputation as both an innovator and a football romantic, it is a story that handily demonstrates Guardiola's fierce and unrelenting desire to win.
If he takes City through this season without a new frontline striker, he will deny himself the best opportunity to do just that.
The long march to Premier League and Carabao Cup glory in 2020/21 was arguably Guardiola's finest coaching accomplishment.
City churned out win after win in a packed schedule, as a team full of playmakers operated perfectly in line with his footballing vision.
Prevailing without a striker perfectly showcased City's and their manager's ability to adapt when needed, but that doesn't mean the club wouldn't be foolish to continue their pursuit of a new main striker.
Like Aguero, Vincent Kompany's fitness had long become unreliable by the time he left City in 2019 and yet, without a replacement, the 2019/20 title defence collapsed. Not following through on a succession plan for another club great is an unacceptable risk.
It is also worth remembering that when Ruben Dias belatedly arrived to fill the leadership void at centre-back, he'd not been City's first choice. Mooted moves for Kalidou Koulibaly and Jules Kounde came to nought prior to the Portuguese centre-back's arrival.
Working down the list of targets didn't go too badly in the end and, amid reports from Italy that Fiorentina's Dusan Vlahovic is now in the Premier League champions' sights, it's imperative they sign a striker to replace Aguero - irrespective of whether that is Harry Kane or not.
Who do you agree with? Follow our new City Fan Brands Editor Dom Farrell and Writer Alex Brotherton on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
