Although Erling Haaland might be considered to be Man City’s talismanic presence at the moment, there’s surely no more important player for Pep Guardiola than his captain, Kevin de Bruyne.
The Belgian is the one that oils the wheels for the reigning Premier League champions, whereas Haaland is just a goal machine.
There are other world class exponents within the squad of course, all of whom contribute in their own way to City being an unstoppable force for the most part.
Kevin de Bruyne set to make important career decision
Three wins out of three already in the Premier League is an ominous sign that Guardiola’s swashbucklers are already in the groove, and it could be a long, hard season once more for those teams wanting to overhaul City at the summit.
For City themselves, keeping hold of De Bruyne is arguably one of the most important pieces of business they could do this season, particularly with the Saudi Pro League apparently waiting in the wings and ready to bestow unimaginable riches upon the midfielder.
According to Football Insider, however, the saga of where De Bruyne will play next could soon be over.
The outlet suggest that he will sign a contract extension with his current employers rather than accept the riches on offer elsewhere.
Once he puts pen to paper, that will surely come as a huge sigh of relief to Guardiola and the club as a whole.
It’s not clear at this stage if the manager will be following suit, because were City to win a seventh Premier League title in eight seasons, it’s difficult to imagine that Guardiola would have the motivation to do it all again.
Particularly when he’s proven beyond doubt that he’s the best coach in the league conducting the orchestra of the best team in the league.