The coup of luring Pep Guardiola to the Etihad Stadium was supposed to herald an era of success for Manchester City but the Spanish tactician now knows exactly why the Premier League is so tough to win.
While in charge at Bayern Munich he was rarely challenged, but there appears to be four or five teams that could scoop the top prize in England at present.
A third-place finish will have been seen as a failure by the former Barcelona chief and he has set about trying to put things right by strengthening his defence.
The full-back positions appear to have been locked down by the acquisition of Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker, although Brazilian Danilo may challenge for a starting berth and it seems as though it is further up the pitch that City now need to look.
Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus will likely be the main men up front but, with Wilfried Bony barely getting a game and likely to leave and Kelechi Iheanacho already gone to Leicester, there is surely scope for a superstar forward to be drafted in before the end of August.
Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez continues to be linked but the Chile international may have other options and the player who is the hottest property at the moment is undoubtedly Monaco's Kylian Mbappé.
It is always difficult at this time of year to separate fact from fiction and it remains to be seen if the 18-year-old would be open to a move away from the principality, but his signing would represent a huge statement that City mean business both domestically and in Europe.
With rivals Manchester United flexing their muscles in the transfer market, the capture of the France international would put down a maker for the red half of the city that the Citizens can match anything coming out of Old Trafford.
The fee would be astronomical but, in the wake of the Neymar to Paris Saint Germain deal, that may now become the norm.
The midfield looks fairly well stacked as Yaya Touré, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sané, Raheem Sterling and, when fit again, Ilkay Gundogan will provide plenty of ammunition for the strikers to feed off.
There is a sense that City, although spending more than £200m, have yet to complete their business for the summer, with the board ready to back the manager if he wants another player or two before the window slams shut.
Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman has been mentioned as a possible target despite the fact he penned permanent terms at the Allianz Arena back in April but the boss will need to move fairly soon with the new season about to get under way.
It looks set to be another thrilling campaign and why not check out the football predictions from Bethut for all the best information and tips ahead of the big kick-off.
Guardiola has gone about his business in a calm and methodical manner this summer, improving and lowering the age of his backline and, while he may not have landed anyone to make the fans sits up and say 'wow', there is still time for that to happen.
