5 most improved Manchester City players under Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has had his Manchester City side purring and beating all comers in the Premier League this season and the strange part is, the players he bought in the summer transfer window have not been as prominent as expected in the squad.
Defender Kyle Walker and goalkeeper Ederson have been the most significant additions from this past summer in City's record-breaking run, while Benjamin Mendy (knee injury), Danilo and Bernardo Silva have all had bit-part roles in the squad.
The bulk of the great work has been done by some who were previously considered to be liabilities or expensive flops, all of whom were expected to feature less often this season.
Instead, though, these players have embraced Guardiola's tactical ideas and are delivering quality performances on a weekly basis.
Here are five of the most improved Citizens this season:
#5 Fernandinho
The understated one in the starting midfield trio that has helped Manchester City sweep all before them aside in the Premier League, the Brazilian ace has - alongside David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne - formed the league's best midfield pairing.
With his intelligent positioning, clean tackling, a keen sense of what is going on all around him and the ability to get stuck in if need be, he has been the cog that keeps the City wheel turning and has been ever-present in the matchday squads put out by Pep Guardiola.
Fernandinho has been well worth the £34m fee that City paid to sign him from Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013. Brilliant under Manuel Pellegrini, he partnered well alongside Yaya Touré to help power the side to Premier League glory in 2014.
Under Guardiola's tutelage, he has become an evolved and better version of himself with minimum effort being expended on running around the pitch. Instead, he has begun relying more on his positional awareness to snuff out opposition attacks or start forward movements for his side.
In a style reminiscent of Sergio Busquets, Fernandinho has evolved into the archetypal Guardiola central midfielder, a player who combines both the most destructive and positive elements of mid elements of football to help move his team to another level.