club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has made it
clear Manchester City will be spending big this
summer.
They have already started the ball rolling with a
£25m bid for England and Liverpool winger Raheem
Sterling.
That offer has been rejected, but Al Mubarak is
upbeat about City's chances of landing the world's
top players, insisting the Blues are now "a club
players want to come and play for".
Here, BBC Sport wonders how a summer of
wheeling and dealing could pan out for the 2013/14
Premier League champions.
So will City be signing Messi or Ronaldo?
In a word; no. City can certainly afford to recruit
Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo but, despite Al
Mubarak's assertion that the club are now more
than their money, they remain less of a draw than
Real Madrid and Barcelona, the current home of
world football's two biggest stars.
They are also unlikely to be able to prise any other
prize assets away from European football's power
duo, which also puts the likes of Luis Suarez,
Neymar and Sergio Ramos out of reach.
City would be an attractive destination for any top
talent Real or Barca deemed surplus to
requirements, as they were when Robinho left the
Bernabeu in a then record-breaking move in 2008.
This is why they have been linked with Gareth Bale,
who endured a tough time in Spain last season, and
Karim Benzema, with reports suggesting new Real
boss Rafa Benitez will only use the French forward
as a rotation option.
However, Manchester United are also reportedly in
the market for Bale and may have the upper hand
as they can use goalkeeper David De Gea as a
bargaining chip, while Benzema is apparently not
short of admirers, with Arsenal joining United on
that list.
BBC Sport's Simon Stone says: "Some players are
unattainable for every team. City must challenge in
the Champions League to lure the very best to
Manchester."
So who are the more likely signings?
Sterling for one, although Liverpool have already
turned down one £25m offer for the 20-year-old.
The winger has made no secret of his desire to
leave Anfield and, with his self-proclaimed
motivation being winning trophies as opposed to
earning money, he would find a fitting home at the
vision of City that Al Mubarak is selling. A reported
wage of £200,000-a-week won't hurt, of course.
The quick, skilful England international also satisfies
City's need for pace and penetration from out wide,
where Jesus Navas has been found wanting, and,
at 20, their need to refresh an ageing squad with
young blood.
Another player who fits this mould is 23-year-old
former Chelsea midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, who
scored 16 goals in the Bundesliga last season for
Wolfsburg and is reportedly on City's radar,
prompting the German club to slap a £40m price tag
on the Belgium international.
One move that would trump both these would be the
recruitment of Paul Pogba, not only because he is
one of the most sought-after midfielders in the
world having helped Juventus reach the Champions
League final, but also because he represents "the
one that got away" from rivals United, who he left to
move to Italy in 2012.
It's not just established players in some of
Europe's biggest teams that City are targeting.
According to reports, they were keen on adding
Aston Villa's teenage midfielder Jack Grealish to
their academy ranks a few years ago.
The 19-year-old's breakthrough into Aston Villa's
first team has apparently revived their interest in
the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international.
Simon Stone says: "An on-form Sterling would be a
major asset and provide the raw pace City have
lacked. Pogba's arrival is far less likely."
Is City a good home for young British
talent?
Grealish to City? Let's face it, their record of signing
young British talent is patchy at best.
Winger Scott Sinclair was 23 when he joined from
Swansea City in August 2012 on a deal worth £8m,
lured by the promise of high wages and Champions
League action. He made just two Premier League
star
source:bbc.co.uk
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