It is a scenario that Aston Villa have feared for some time - the day their captain, talisman and academy product leaves the club.
Jack Grealish's move to Manchester City has been one of the most prominent transfer stories of the summer and Pep Guardiola's side have matched Villa's £100million asking price.
England's first £100m player, Grealish will earn over £200,000 per week on a five-year contract at City - but plans are already being put into action at Villa to compensate for his departure, with Danny Ings becoming the latest eye-catching arrival.
Last season Grealish scored six goals and provided 12 assists in the Premier League, but statistics alone don't tell the whole story of how important he is to Villa.
The 25-year-old midfielder's superb dribbling and creativity make him extremely difficult to defend against, and it is no surprise that he was the most fouled player in the Premier League last season.
Replacing Grealish would, then, be a mammoth task for Villa, especially with less than a month remaining until the closure of the transfer window.
Villa, however, have already started the process of trying to replace Grealish's creativity and moved early in the transfer market to bring in Emiliano Buendia from Norwich for a club record fee of £40m.
Buendia possesses prior experience of playing in the Premier League having provided seven assists for Norwich in the 2019-20 campaign.
The Argentine was superb in the Championship last season and will be looking to show that he can also be a star in the top flight on a regular basis.
Villa have also completed a deal to bring in Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey for £30m.
Bailey's pace and dribbling can cause plenty of problems for opponents, with the 23-year-old having earned praise for his displays for Bayer Leverkusen.
A player who has previously played in the Champions League, Bailey will be looking to adapt quickly to English football and, at least in part, help Villa deal with the loss of Grealish should he depart.
And then, on Wednesday night, came the shock news that they had snapped up Ings from Southampton for £30m. The striker, a prolific and proven Premier League performer, has signed a three-year deal. At the age of 29 and having scored 46 goals in 100 games for Southampton, signing Ings looks like canny business.
Chelsea's out-of-favour striker Tammy Abraham - who previously shone on loan for Villa - has long been a target, with a potential £40m fee. Ings' arrival has, however, made a move for the 23-year-old England international far less likely.
Villa's recruitment drive is unlikely to stop there. They were unsuccessful in attempting to bring Arsenal's Emile Smith Rowe to the club but are still looking to add further creativity to their ranks.
A £25m offer for Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse was rejected, but Villa are likely to return with an improved bid.
Ward-Prowse would be an excellent signing for Villa. He is Southampton's captain and has a wealth of Premier League experience with 269 games in the division, while he is renowned for his excellent set-pieces and in particular his threat from free-kicks.
He has been capped by England on eight occasions and offers much in the way of commitment and leadership qualities, with the latter attribute particularly useful as Villa look to deal with the talismanic Grealish leaving.
There have also been suggestions that Villa could return to Norwich to try and sign Todd Cantwell, who is expected to cost around £20m.
Cantwell is a fine dribbler and creative passer, and would relish being given responsibility for being Villa's creative spark.
Overall, if Grealish leaves, Villa are aiming for a holistic approach as they look to replace him, with the hope being that a combination of new recruits - Buendia, Bailey, Ings and potentially Ward-Prowse and Cantwell - will be able to match or perhaps even surpass Grealish's overall output.
Replacing a star player is certainly hugely difficult, as Tottenham found out when they looked to deal with the departure of Gareth Bale in 2013 by signing a host of new recruits with the £89m fee paid by Real Madrid.
Roberto Soldado, Etienne Capoue, Vlad Chiriches and Paulinho all flopped, with Nacer Chadli briefly shining before being moved on. Only Christian Eriksen could be considered a huge hit from that now infamous group of seven, while Erik Lamela was a qualified success.
However, unlike Spurs' motley crew, the players Villa are targeting or have signed have, with the exception of Bailey, previously played in the Premier League, meaning they shouldn't have to undergo much of an adaptation process.
Furthermore, the likes of Buendia, Bailey, Cantwell and Abraham are still young and have the ability to improve further, while Ward-Prowse is only 26, and all five players could potentially be part of the Villa set-up for many years to come. Ings, while older, should still have three or four years at his peak left.
Losing Grealish is a scary prospect for Villa but they are moving quickly in an attempt to deal with the situation and will quietly be confident that they will still provide a significant creative threat even if their key man does leave. And with good reason too.