Many regard the summer of 2017 as a rebuild and yet, of the players we signed that summer, it was only really Ederson and Walker who came straight into the team. Bernardo and Danilo didn't really feature properly until the following season and Mendy was out for all of it. Laporte came in January. Sometimes a couple of players really can make all the difference.
Over the summer we went from
Caballero
Sagna, Stones, Otamendi, Kolarov
Fernandinho
Sterling, De Bruyne, Silva, Sané
Aguero
to
Ederson
Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Delph
Fernandinho
Sterling, De Bruyne, Silva, Sané
Aguero
No major difference except at GK and full-back. It was just a necessary refresh that felt like a rebuild. No reason why 2/3 signings couldn't make all the difference for us, especially if Rodri comes back at his best as an added bonus.