News that Chelsea are closing in on Ben Chilwell will have pricked up ears at the Etihad.
Manchester City showed considerable interest in the Leicester left-back in 2019 before deciding to prioritise other positions in the summer transfer window, and the England international has only enhanced his reputation since - even if Riyad Mahrez has given him a few torrid afternoons.
Despite City's decision, it is hard to say that the troublesome position has become more settled for Pep Guardiola in the last 18 months. Aleks Zinchenko began the campaign as first-choice and arguably the left-back that came out of the year with the most credit is Angelino, who was jettisoned without a fuss in January but ended up going further in the Champions League than his parent club.
If the Blues are to look at strengthening there - and once again it is below centre-backs in their priorities - it appears they will have to look beyond Chilwell; the Athletic reports that Chelsea have almost reached a £50m agreement with Leicester.
The 23-year-old will continue to be part of the conversation around City's left-backs but if and when he moves it will be as an opportunity missed for the Blues rather than a potential option. However well or poorly Zinchenko, Angelino, Joao Cancelo or Benjamin Mendy are playing will partly be measured against what the club could have got.
Missing out on a player to a rival is hardly new, and fortunately for City it hasn't hurt them too badly in recent years.
United have beaten them to the signings of Alexis Sanchez, Fred, and Harry Maguire and it is hard to argue that any have thrived.
Of those, Maguire has probably done best, and could have filled some of the numerous leaks that sprung up in the City defence over the course of last season. Yet his biggest achievement appeared to be simply that he was present for every league match, earning only a 6/10 in the MEN's end-of-season ratings.
Fred fared better but took an awfully long time to settle and still faces a battle to make the best XI, while Jorginho at Chelsea is another that City wanted but who has not set the Premier League alight at a rival.
There is no guarantee that these players may not yet make City regret missing out on them and only Sanchez can be said to have been a poor signing but to date the pressure at the Etihad has not been amplified by those transfer misses.
Should Chilwell complete a move to Stamford Bridge this summer, City's left-backs will be left hoping that the same happens. As if there wasn't enough weight on their shoulders to perform, the presence of a rival starring at another club will only heighten the scrutiny on both the position and the recruitment.
