It goes without saying that Man City have already kickstarted their transfer window business in style, before the window had even officially opened. With the transfer window only opening last week, City were able to fully announce some new signings, big signings at that. The introduction of some promising stars will surely put them in the football betting favourites for most, if not all competitions they play in next season.
Erling Haaland is the big name on everyone’s mind, not just in the English Premier League but also European teams are watching this start closely as he possesses a huge threat to all big teams in the Premier League and Champions League. If City didn’t already have a fierce squad before his arrival, they certainly do now. This simply boosts the overall rating of the squad, which was arguably the best in the world already. The elephant in the room for Man City at the moment is of course that dark cloud of not winning the UEFA Champions League yet, which seems to almost look like it will disappear each season, until they somehow manage a shock defeat in the closing stages of the competition, like they have done in the previous 2 seasons, firstly in the final against Chelsea and then in the semi final against Real Madrid.
Haaland may be the key to unlock Europe’s biggest prize, with him being one of the best strikers in the world at this current moment and only looks to be improving. Alongside him, City have also clinched the signing of a very young, promising striker that caught the eye of so many teams around the world. Julien Alvarez, a name that not many had heard of until recently, was an under the radar signing which happened back in January, for a fee of £14 million. Alvarez has huge potential, with people already labelling him as the next “Sergio Aguero”. He’s certainly one for the future and will benefit from learning from Pep Guardiola and also playing alongside Erling Haaland if Pep decides to line-up that way next season.
The transfer window doesn’t close there for City and the club have already assured fans that there is more business to be done, despite them already having a hugely strong squad. It is believed that City could well be interested in Leeds United starman, Kalvin Phillips. The newly England International will not come cheap, but surely with the experience he has in the premier league already and the long, hugely potential career he could have ahead of him, the £100m price mark may seem quite reasonable for City, who will not be afraid to splash that sort of cash.
Phillips would be an excellent signing, as City appear to lose Fernandinho and potentially Gundogan. These are two massively experienced midfielders, who played an integral part in City winning the Premier League this season, will definitely need to be replaced if City want any chance of competing in all competitions next season. Phillips could slot in alongside Rodri and really boost that central midfield position.
Another area Manchester City are considering bulking up in is that left back position. Last season we saw Zinchenko playing well on that left side and also Nathan Ake being played on the left in some games, but it seems they don’t quite give Pep the confidence as regulars in that position, so instead, he’s looking towards Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella. Brighton had a wonderful season under Graham Potter, a manager that seems to really be gelling with his squad and looking to improve season upon season, potentially reaching the European spots one day. Potter relied heavily on Cucurella last season, who provides width, pace, excellent passing and also dribbling traits. What could be an issue is the agreed fee for the signature of Cucurella. It is believed they could be spending anywhere around the £50 million mark.
