Perhaps the biggest indicator of how good Joao Cancelo has been for Manchester City this season is that no-one talks about the Blues needing to sign a left-back anymore.
City have long looked ropey on the left side of defence, but it appears all they needed to do was buy a right-back and stick him out of position.
All in all seriousness, Cancelo has made the role his own and has been one of the best players in the Premier League this term.
However, his conversion to left-back has opened up a need to strengthen on the other flank. Kyle Walker is an extremely important player for Pep Guardiola's side, so bringing in some cover for him over the summer would be a shrewd move on City's part.
Judging by the latest report from the CIES Football Observatory, the perfect player could already be in the building... sort of.
CIES have put together a list of the top 100 players born after 2002 currently playing in Europe's 31 leagues outside the top five - the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga - ranking them by their on-field production and the general level of the matches in which they have participated.
The rankings are split up by position and the full-back category makes for particularly interesting reading.
With an index score of 258.1, 19-year-old right-back Yan Couto is ranked as the third-best wide defender. The Brazilian might be a familiar name to some, as he is on loan from City at Portuguese side SC Braga.
City signed Couto from Brazilian club Coritiba in the summer of 2020 for around £5.4million, and immediately loaned him to City Football Group side Girona. The youngster impressed in the Spanish second tier, earning himself a move to the Portuguese top flight this season.
He has featured in all but two of Braga's league games this term and started four games in the Europa League as Carlos Carvalhal's side qualified for the play-off round.
By the end of the campaign, Couto will be 20 years old - the perfect age to come back to City and become integrated with Guardiola's tactical setup.
In a few weeks' time, we will see first-hand how Walker's absence affects City in more ways than one. His three-game Champions League suspension, earned for a wild challenge and red card against RB Leipzig in December, will mean that Cancelo has to shift across to right-back.
Because of that, City will be without both their first-choice right and left-backs.
Depending on how much they feature across the remainder of this season, it's feasible that both Oleksandr Zinchenko and Nathan Ake could seek moves away from the Etihad Stadium in the summer. Each have plenty of admirers around Europe and it will be hard for Guardiola to guarantee either regular game time in the future.
In that event, City would need to delve into the market for a new back-up left-back. They could do without having to look for new right-back cover too.
Integrating Couto into the squad would also further justify CFG's strategy of buying the best South American talent.
City first dabbled in that particular market in 2016, when they agreed a deal to sign Gabriel Jesus from Palmeiras for a pretty reasonable £27m.
Last summer they snapped up teenage sensation Kayky from Fluminense and, while largely playing for the Under-23s this season, he has started to feature in first-team training.
Julian Alvarez is the latest South American talent that City have faced down the competition to sign. The £17.9m striker will stay with River Plate until at least July, but when he arrives he will likely be involved in Guardiola's plans straight away.
Couto finding a path into City's first-team would allow them to strengthen while focusing on other transfer priorities and would show that their ability to astutely recruit talent is unrivalled in elite football.
Do you think Yan Couto should be a member of City's first-team squad next season? Follow our City Is Ours writer Alex Brotherton on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
