Are Spend, Spend, Spend Manchester City Going To Smash the Transfer Fee Record?

Posted by Cathal Breathnach on July 28, 2010 | 10 Comments

Who do you think will win the Premier League? Is it still possible to buy your way to the title a la Chel$ki? This year we will find out thanks to the extravagant signing spree that Manchester City is in the middle of. It certainly has persuaded impartial observers, online betting punters and many journalists that the club are going to be in the hunt for major honours this year.

City has always seemed to do things differently and this summer the club is bucking the trend that most other Premiership clubs are following by going on a massive spending binge. While a lot of clubs have limited their transfer activity over the summer, Manchester’s other team has been flashing the cash in the sort of spending splurge that most clubs could simply not dream of doing. Their latest mega-buck buy is Aleksandar Kolarov who is moving from Lazio to the City of Manchester Stadium for a fifteen million pound fee.

That signing is just the latest in a long list of players who have been added to the City squad this summer. They have already paid out £64 million on Yaya Tour, David Silva, and Jerome Boateng and they are still looking to sign up more players. It looks increasingly likely that by the time the transfer window closes owner Sheikh Mansour’s club will have shattered the previous record held by Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea who spent £90 million back in 2004.

Who will they sign next? One target that Roberto Mancini has firmly in his sights is the Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli. When he was the manager at Inter Mancini played a key part in the development of the player and City now seem to be on the verge of re-uniting the two at Eastlands. Other targets that the Mancunians are looking at include Aston Villa’s James Milner, and Edin Dzeko of Wolfsburg. The pursuit of Fernando Torres for a reputed £70 million seems to have hit the buffers as the Liverpool player has now indicated he wants to stay at Anfield. However it looks likely that more signings will be finalised in the days ahead.

One of the consequences of the influx of new players will be that some of the playing staff already at the club will have to go. This is because the Premiership has newly-implemented regulations limiting the size of a squad to only 25 players over the age of aged 21. At the time of writing there were 37 players in that category at the club. Not surprisingly there is a lot of speculation about who will be leaving. Some of the likeliest candidates to move on are Craig Bellamy, Robinho, Javier Garrido and Roque Santa Cruz but others will be in the frame too.

The news from the football betting websites is that Mancini’s men are 4/1 to win the Premiership so there is clearly an expectation that the club is going places. What effect will transfer activity on this scale have on the team though? There must be a risk that the changes and upheavals in the squad might have a negative impact on morale. It is clear that Mancini will have his work cut out in the weeks ahead – it is one thing to bring in a bunch of star players en masse but it is quite another to build a cohesive team that will meet the demands of the owner and the fans alike.

This article was written by Totesport for Football Corner.

Comments

10 Responses to “Are Spend, Spend, Spend Manchester City Going To Smash the Transfer Fee Record?”

HeavyRiffs
July 28th, 2010 @ 6:09 pm

Do some research, several other “good” websites and blogs, have already slaughtered the so called journos for their scaremongering about the new squad quotas…
Nithin
July 28th, 2010 @ 6:16 pm

Manchester city is trying to emulate chelsea, but they might end up more of like Real Madrid and ending up without any silverware.
HeavyRiffs
July 28th, 2010 @ 6:21 pm

@Nithin

You mean we are trying to emulate Chelsea, by signing as many good players as we can and trying to win some silverware? Very astute of you…

You’re right we might win nothing, but then again we might well win something too, interesting eh…
Jem
July 28th, 2010 @ 7:02 pm

I don’t think we will win anything this season. Top 4 will do. But if he can keep the squad together then next season we will challenge for the title. It will take a season for the new team to gel together.
bonje
July 28th, 2010 @ 7:08 pm

people make it sound like a bad thing by wanting the best players to win the league, isnt that what every team wishes they could do. it seems most people are a little too envious lol
Russ the blue
July 28th, 2010 @ 7:39 pm

Why does everyone predict doom for City. The owners are here for the long haul, if we don’t win something this year we will the next or the next its just a question of time.

I am not saying City will win anything but with the squad they have its entirely possible they could win two cups and a top four place.

Watch the club spend then if we are in the Champions league
Monster Blue
July 28th, 2010 @ 8:06 pm

@-HeavyRiffs
I think you need to speak a bit slower for these undesirables to understand you……Great posts on all sites, you, just dont leave much more for us MightyBlues to reply to, but great reading ;o)
WINDY MILLER
July 28th, 2010 @ 9:20 pm

It’s headlines like this that make me laugh. Spend Spend Spend Man City, trying to buy the title like Chelsea. Well lets study the facts and see just who has ACTUALLY bought the league title more times than anyone else. Ask yourselves who spent the most cash on transfers in 1993, er it was man Utd. Ok then what about 1994? er yes again Man Utd. Ok how about every season apart from 1995 up until the emergence of Chelsea? Yes you’ve guessed it…. Man Utd. So just which team really deserves the title of Buying the league more than any other? Strange how the truth gets brushed under the carpet to let the myth that Man Utd win their titles with academy products continue.
HeavyRiffs
July 29th, 2010 @ 12:09 am

@Jem

You’re right dude, but we should have gotten top four last season and we should win the league this season!

Although the club categorically stated top six was the aim last year and CL footy this year…

HoHum.
Why should what the club, chairman, board, fans detract what the tabloids dictate what we actually want and what we should actually be doing, who are we to have our own game plan?!?
HeavyRiffs
July 29th, 2010 @ 12:12 am

@Monster Blue

Cheers ears, got sick of the haters and got sick of posting anonymously on lots of random sites. So stepped up, signed up and defended the blue corner, only right…

Lot of crazy bias out there though…

Football Corner

"Rome wasn't built in a day. But I wasn't on that particular job." – Brian Clough

Are Spend, Spend, Spend Manchester City Going To Smash the Transfer Fee Record?

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