Some may be keen to dismiss pre-season as little more than a fitness exercise, but it can offer opportunities to players who have occupied the fringes for the previous campaign.
Just ask Todd Cantwell about the significance of pre-season, after all, it was his route to turning Daniel Farke's head after a handful of Championship appearances after a positive loan in the Netherlands.
Getting minutes into legs is the primary mission, especially before a gruelling Premier League campaign where the margins between success and failure are so slight. But there are subplots within that, judgements are being made. Plans evolve around what is showcased on the pitch.
Results don't matter, but performances do.
Andrew Omobamidele's condition has led to a more relaxed approach about a pursuit of an additional central defender. Adam Idah's goals served as a timely reminder to why he is rated so highly inside the corridors of power at the club.
Pierre Lees-Melou's early displays have ramped up the hype behind what he could add to this current crop of City players. Cantwell's creativity has fuelled another surge of speculation surrounding his future.
Those inside the club will attempt to downplay its significance, but a player can emerge from the pack and disrupt all the plans to earn a place in the starting XI for the opening match of the campaign.
Farke will feel unsatisfied by the disjointed nature of their warm-up schedule. A coronavirus outbreak will mean the opening weeks of the campaign will be 'bumpy', according to City's boss.
New additions always attract eyeballs as City step up their preparations but it's been two young players that have caught the eye.
Bali Mumba has an almost impossible task of displacing Max Aarons in that starting right-back role. The ex-Sunderland man has spent a year learning from one of City's hottest talents.
There is a rawness visible every time the 19-year-old plays but the materials are there for him to become a top player. Mumba actually began his career as a full-back before being converted to a midfielder during his spell with the Black Cats.
Norwich have revived that and view Mumba as a player for the mid to long term. The fact there has been no conversations about a possible loan move merely show the high regard he is held in at the club.
His performances in pre-season show he has the capacity to be a serviceable understudy to Aarons, especially if City persist with the wing-back systems Farke has deployed in friendly matches.
In terms of attributes, he has all the traits required for a modern right-back. Mumba is athletic, technically proficient and dynamic. There are some aspects of his game that require fine tuning, but that is the case for every teenager in the game.
Mumba's cause may be advanced further by the confirmation that Premier League teams will be permitted to name up to nine substitutes on the bench for any given match.
Then there are the cup competitions, City should learnt heir League Cup opposition this week, and that is another chance for Farke to shuffle his pack and have a look at those options away from the glaring spotlight of the Premier League.
Beyond any great surprise, Aarons is expected to be a City player come the end of August but Mumba's pathway extends into the future.
Even Delia Smith has been a realist when it comes to Aarons' long-term future at the club. One day there will be an opening in that position, potentially sooner rather than later.
It is up to Mumba to prove he is ready to fulfil it. If he does, City will have another asset on their hands.
On the evidence of this pre-season, he looks to have pushed on again. Farke has proven his ability to mould and improve young talents and City's boss will take his time and adopt a paternal approach to Mumba's development.
That will be the same for Omobamidele, although he does look set for a more prominent role within City's starting line-up.
The defender boasts better physical data than Ben Godfrey was displaying at the same point of their respective journies. Beyond some mistimed and inexperienced lunges against Newcastle,
Whether he is considered a starting option for Farke at this stage remains to be seen, but if City do adopt a 3-5-2 or variation of, then his name will be firmly in the conversation.
For a player with such little experience, his composure both on the ball and in his defensive work is impressive. Again, there is room for refinement but he has propelled himself into the conversation.
That is because of his work on the training pitches and in friendly matches. Norwich want to add another central defender to their ranks before the transfer window slams shut.
Until then, Omobamidele will be given time to prove himself against some of the toughest opponents in world football. Pass that test, and we may be looking another gem from the club's flourishing academy.
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