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A few eyes will have been rubbed at Manchester City last week as the Jorginho deal they had been meticulously preparing fell apart as dramatically as any kind of stability or happiness in Gomorrah.

After months of going at with the Neapolitan negotiators, Txiki Begiristain was left without the smiling contract shot that usually follows.

With Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge instead doing the posing, it leaves City with some thinking to do. They have missed out on players in recent windows - Dani Alves and Alexis Sanchez last summer and then Sanchez and Riyad Mahrez in January - but Jorginho feels like a particularly crucial part of the jigsaw to be missing.

As they weigh up their options, Pep Guardiola will be grateful at least that they are not at boiling point with another key player.

There was a bit of concern around Raheem Sterling before the World Cup that had very little to do with the choice of artwork on his legs.

With just two years remaining on his City contract, there was no agreement reached over a new deal before talks were put on hold before the tournament.

Given the 23-year-old has previously spoken warmly about a move to Spain and the seemingly incessant need to try to denounce his character in the UK tabloids, a standout competition for Sterling would have rocketed his value.

It wasn't that he was poor in Russia - he was certainly better than many made out - but the City forward did not set the World Cup alight in the way that others did.

As a result, Sterling's name is not, for instance, being included in the discussion of how Real Madrid go about replacing Cristiano Ronaldo whereas Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappe are following their tournaments.

Until the former Liverpool man puts pen to paper it will still concern City, especially as the clock ticks down on his current contract.

And it will cost them to do so. At the time of his signing in 2015, club chiefs were convinced they had got him at a knockdown price while Merseysiders were declaring him as no better than Jordan Ibe.

A tremendous year last season under Guardiola will have pushed his value up and the market is being inflated all the time - not least by Liverpool at the moment!

However, Guardiola and Begiristain have at least avoided Sterling becoming a major talking point this summer as the club undergoes a low-key tour of the United States without most of their World Cup stars.

Losing Jorginho may have stung, but the Premier League champions will not be expecting any more hurt before the transfer window closes.