For Pep Guardiola, there will be subtle tweaks to his Treble-winning Manchester City squad this summer, rather than any radical change.
Given they remain so far ahead of their Premier League rivals and are now Europe's top team after their Champions League triumph, Guardiola does not need to make major personnel changes.
City have already moved swiftly to address the expected departure of skipper Ilkay Gundogan, by agreeing a fee of £25million, plus £5m in add-ons, for Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic.
While there has been no official Gundogan announcement, the capture of Croatia international Kovacic indicates that Gundogan, out of contract on June 30, is on his way after seven years, with reports he has now completed a Barcelona medical.
The future of Bernardo Silva is also unresolved, with the midfielder still keen to move, having agreed to give City one more season last summer, when he could not secure the switch he wanted.
Paris St Germain were the only club to make a firm offer for Silva last summer, but by the time thet had made their move, City had put a block on the 28-year-old going anywhere.
PSG and Barcelona could move for Silva, while City have already lined up a replacement for defender Aymeric Laporte, who wants to move for more regular playing time elsewhere.
RB Leipzig and Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol rated at £80m, is the player Guardiola has identified to replace Laporte, with a firm offer expected to be made in the coming weeks.
Other City stars who could leave include Kyle Walker, 33, and Riyad Mahrez, 32, with the former wanted by Bayern Munich and the latter targeted by the lucrative Saudi Arabia league.
Guardiola's reshuffling of his pack is likely to see more game time for the likes of Phil Foden and Julian Alavrez, while the core of City's formidable Treble-winning side will remain unchanged, with record-breaking 52-goal striker Erling Haaland spearheading their attack.
Meanwhile, nearly a month after neighbours Manchester United returned to the competition City lifted, they have yet to make a move in the summer transfer market.
When United beat Chelsea 4-1 at Old Trafford on May 25 to secure an immediate return to Europe's elite club competition, Eri ten Hag warned they needed “better players” to compete there.
“We need more," said Ten Hag. “Now we are far away, so we have a lot of work to do. We've made progress, but we need better players if we want to compete for the highest. But I don't have so much patience, that is one of my mistakes.”
United's protracted takeover saga, coupled with the historic reluctance of the Glazers to spend big after Champions League qualification, has compromised Ten Hag's hopes of bolstering his squad.
Ten Hag has a decision to make on his goalkeeper, with the saga surrounding David de Gea and his contract continuing. Regardless, a new number one is on the agenda with Porto's Diogo Costa on his list of options.
He also wants at least two outfield starters with Tottenham's Harry Kane, Napoli's Victor Osimhen and Atalanta's Rasmus Hojlund on Ten Hag's striker short-list. Chelsea's Mason Mount, Barcelona's Frenkie De Jong and Brighton's Moises Caicedo make up the midfield targets.
HOW MAN UTD AND MAN CITY MIGHT LOOK NEXT SEASON (NEW PLAYERS IN BOLD)
Man City: (4-3-3): Ederson; Akanji, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; De Bruyne, Rodri, Kovacic; Foden, Haaland, Grealish
Man Utd (4-1-2-3): Costa; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro; Mount, Fernandes; Antony, Osimhen, Rashford
