Manchester City will be heading into next season without their veteran midfielder Fernandinho for the first time since his arrival in 2013.

As the oldest player in Pep Guardiola's squad, the Brazilian's departure should bring the average age of City's squad down somewhat.

One of the oldest members remaining in the squad is Riyad Mahrez, who has made 189 appearances for the Citizens across all competitions. In that time, the 31-year-old has found the net 63 times and delivered 46 assists along the way, also winning several domestic trophies.

With the winger's current contract at City set to expire in the summer of 2023, the club could well be looking at potential long-term replacements for the Algerian.

One man with whom City have been linked recently and who could fit this particular bill is Arsenal attacker Bukayo Saka.

A product of the Gunners' youth system, the player made 52 appearances across their under-18 and under-23 teams before making his senior debut in November 2018. In 131 senior appearances for the north London club, the 20-year-old has scored 23 goals and provided 29 assists in the process.

This shows that he certainly knows how to be an attacking threat from the right wing, just as Mahrez has been for City.

To further highlight the English youngster's talent, only Trent Alexander-Arnold (150) and Bruno Fernandes (145) racked up more shot-creating actions in the league this season than Saka (142).

In terms of his shooting, only four other players in the Premier League had more attempts at goal than the £58.5m-rated Arsenal winger, who had 95 shots in total, highlighting how much of a nuisance he can be for opposition defenders and goalkeepers.

His overall performances in the league this term earned the England international an impressive season rating of 7.06/10 from WhoScored, making him the highest-rated player at Arsenal.

Labelled a "delightful" player by Gary Lineker on Twitter, Saka certainly seems to have the ability to be a useful attacking figure in City's team.

If Guardiola feels the need to add a potential long-term replacement for Mahrez either this summer or in the near future, the Arsenal starlet should definitely be in his thinking.

In other news: Pep can land his own Ronaldo as City eye move for "spectacular" £45m-rated "diamond"