Ferran Torres, Nathan Ake and any other new signings at Manchester City this summer will support the club's pursuit of Champions League glory from afar before linking up with the squad.
In normal circumstances, summer transfers would be able to join their new team as soon as possible. Rodri was signed early enough last season to go on the pre-season tour, for instance, while Benjamin Mendy and others joined it in 2017.
However, the situation created by the pandemic is anything but ordinary and has meant that the transfer window has opened for the next campaign before the current one has finished.
Pep Guardiola and his side head to Lisbon on Monday to compete in the latter stages of the Champions League, with a quarter-final against Lyon on Saturday. With the regulations tight amid ongoing concern about the impact of the virus, City will only be taking an essential group.
That means Ake and Torres will start working with the squad when preparations begin for next season. As well as other English teams still involved in European competition, City are expected to be given around 30 days of rest between their last Champions League game in Lisbon and the start of the 2020/21 Premier League campaign even if that means them starting later than the rest of their division.
Guardiola will hope to have added to his squad by then even though the transfer window will remain open until October, with a long-term partner for Aymeric Laporte in central defence a priority.
