Aaron Mooy's transfer from Melbourne to Manchester City raises more questions than it answers, with doubts surrounding the midfielder's chances of game time in the Premier League.
Melbourne revealed on Thursday that Mooy has signed a three-year deal with City Football Group's (CFG) flagship club for an undisclosed transfer fee.
The 25-year-old has become a critical player for Australia over the past 12 months on the back of two strong A-League seasons, but it is hard to believe Mooy will be lining up alongside the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne in Pep Guardiola's starting XI next season.
Two other Australians have signed for Manchester City over the past 12 months - Luke Brattan and Anthony Caceres - and they have moved in the other direction, on loan to CFG's A-League team.
Who is Aaron Mooy?
Man City fans will most likely wake up on Thursday and wonder why the Premier League club has signed an ex-Bolton Wanderers youth player, whose only senior European experience was with former Scottish Premiership club St Mirren.
Mooy is arguably the first name on Australia coach Ange Postecoglou's team sheet nowadays, with the midfielder having started in the Socceroos' past 10 matches.
A creative central midfielder and dead-ball specialist, Mooy has become Postecoglou's primary playmaker - ahead of Celtic's Tom Rogic and 2015 Asian Cup MVP Massimo Luongo - and was vital to Australia's promising display against England in May where the Socceroos were unfortunate to lose 2-1.
In 2015-16, Mooy was the top orchestrator in the A-League, leading the league for assists (20) and chances created (104).
There is little doubt Mooy is ready to challenge himself at a higher level than Australia's top division and could perhaps succeed in the Premier League at a smaller club, but it remains unlikely that Guardiola will turn to the Australian with the talent available at the Etihad.
A loan move is likely
Mooy's complete lack of experience in one of Europe's top five leagues will make it almost impossible for him to convince Guardiola of his worth ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Having previously been linked with Rangers and Club Brugge, Mooy's first stop could very well be outside of Manchester as CFG give him the chance to prove himself at a lower level.
Mooy doesn't have the pace to play as a wide midfielder and isn't defensively minded enough to screen the back four.
As a number eight or number 10, the Australian needs to succeed at a higher level than the A-League before he can have a hope of replacing the likes of Fabian Delph or Samir Nasri as back-up midfielders, let alone De Bruyne or David Silva in City's starting line-up.
In the past couple of seasons, City have sent players to Celtic, Galatasaray, AEK Athens and PSV. Any of those clubs would provide a more realistic challenge for Mooy in 2016-17.
Who gains out of this transfer?
It has been widely accepted throughout 2016 that Mooy would depart Melbourne City and the A-League but it remains confusing as to why he joined CFG's premier club.
With CFG owning both Manchester City and their Melbourne counterparts, there's no net financial gain in terms of the transfer fee, plus, at 25, Mooy is arguably too old to be developed into a top player at the academy.
Mooy will certainly have improved his salary but if he barely plays for the next three years and is shuttled around Europe on various loan deals, his career could go south.
When Manchester City signed Brattan and Caceres from Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners last term, it was a move by CFG to secure talent from some of Melbourne City's A-League rivals for their Australia-based club - A-League clubs aren't allowed to pay transfer fees to each other.
Socceroos fans are also concerned by the move, as Australia's national team will only suffer if Mooy isn't given the ideal foundation to grow over the next three years.
- Goal