Man City are the real transfer window winners with unprecedented quintuple

Manchester United were declared early champions while Arsenal made a late surge towards the finishing line with the loan signing of Raheem Sterling, but the uncomfortable truth is that Manchester City were the ultimate winners of the transfer window. Again. They usually are. As brilliant as they are at football, they might actually be better at transfer windows.

Any summer in which they do not lose the ludicrous Erling Haaland to Spain (he will surely one day seek success at a legacy club) has to be declared a resounding success, but making a massive profit on a back-up striker, raking in extraordinary money on those who can only dream of being back-up strikers, bringing back a club legend and adding an under-priced but seemingly brilliant winger thanks to their multi-club ownership model is the quintuple of transfer windows.

And they emerge from that summer – which has left the desperate clinging to the hope of a Haaland injury that would see them reduced to using Phil Foden, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva or Savio as their most advanced player – as a team who can afford to use the best defensive midfielder in the world for just 45 minutes of their first four games and still emerge with 12 points.

The received truth is that to stay ahead, champions need to spend money and invest because to stand still is to go backwards. And yet City have now made a profit in two of the last five seasons in which they have won four titles and are heavy favourites for a fifth. Their five-year net spend is lower than Crystal Palace, and Palace are notoriously thrifty.

A hearing is currently deciding whether Manchester City have broken enough financial rules to warrant points deductions or worse, but there is a great deal to admire about the way they conduct their transfer business, rarely overpaying, almost never underselling and yet staying true to the principle that if a player wants to leave – and a club meets their asking price – then they should be allowed to leave.

MORE ON MAN CITY FROM F365:
👉 Man City FFP: Commission ‘corruption’ concerns emerge amid Premier League cloak and dagger
👉 Barcelona ditch Haaland to focus on ‘ideal candidate’ at Newcastle after Eddie Howe ‘sack update
👉 Man City offer ‘irrefutable salary’ to Barcelona star as Man Utd, Chelsea join in Jorge Mendes ‘contact

We don’t question whether they will rue the sale of Julian Alvarez because we have used up all our questions on Ferran Torres, Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez. Those looking to peddle the Cole Palmer regret narrative last season were given short shrift by the City manager, who seemed genuinely happy that an under-used player was thriving elsewhere.

Manchester City will never get fulsome credit from many and perhaps they never should, but it would be churlish not to grudgingly admire the way in which the best team in England – and quite possibly the best team in Europe not managed purely on vibes – can casually shed first-team players and somehow emerge a better side.

It’s not easy. Chelsea are making a cow’s arse of their transfer policy, while Arsenal and Manchester United have both struggled with the tricky matter of selling at the right time. The Gunners are certainly improving – selling Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah for sizeable sums is a step in the right direction – but in this and all metrics they are chasing City.

That’s not to say that there have been not been mistakes, but Kalvin Phillips and perhaps Matheus Nunes make a very short list from recent years, and it’s notable that the latter was very much a distant second choice to the suddenly unbuyable Lucas Paqueta. Every club has the odd Naby Keita or Fabio Vieira.

Working with Pep Guardiola is a an extraordinary incentive so we are rarely surprised when City sign an excellent player – though it’s worth remembering that few thought Rodri, Ruben Dias and Kevin de Bruyne were that good when they arrived – but we are often surprised when City sell an excellent player. Surprised but no longer confused; they know what they are doing.

And of those who have left, Ilkay Gundogan might be the first to testify that the grass is not always greener. Or the sky a nicer shade of blue. He might have had a quiet word with Rodri.