Manchester City are closing in on the biggest transfer of the summer, with a deal for Erlin Haaland edging closer. And if the Blues see the deal through, as seems increasingly likely, it will mark a new phase in the Blues’ rise to power.
City have earned a reputation as the planet’s big spenders when it comes to bringing in players after shelling out around £1.3billion in fees over the last decade, marginally more than Chelsea and Manchester United. But the popular argument, often subsiding into criticism, is that City have simply gone out and bought the best players, and that is what has fuelled their unprecedented success.
It cannot be denied that the Blues have paid big money to bring in top talents. But they have never delved into the top bracket of the market, and that is why the only City signing that features in the top 30 most expensive transfers in football history is the £100million splashed out on Jack Grealish last summer.
They have not figured when the huge names - superstars like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Eden Hazard - were up for grabs. They did move for Lionel Messi, but only when there was a clear possibility of landing him for free, and were not in the mix when Neymar, Mbappe, Joao Felix and Antoine Griezmann were on the move.
ALSO READ: City's stance on Haaland transfer talk
Even Grealish, despite the fee, was not a globally recognised star - he was arguably still behind his new City colleagues Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling in the England pecking order when he joined the Blues. What City have done brilliantly is do business in the second bracket - they are not browsing the shelves at Harrod’s, but neither are they Poundshop customers.
They have specialised in picking out highly promising young players like Sergio Aguero, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte and developing them into world-beaters. They have also picked up players like Kevin De Bruyne - labelled a £54million flop after his unhappy stay at Chelsea - Joao Cancelo and Ilkay Gundogan, none of whom were at the centre of intense transfer scrambles.
Until they signed Grealish, they had left the traditional big guns of European football, like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United, plus the other newly rich kids Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, to deal in nine-figure transfers. But Grealish remains the exception. Looking at the highest 30 transfer fees in world football history, Madrid, Barca and United account for five each, Juventus for four, and Chelsea for three.
Last summer’s move for Kane, and the willingness to spend up to £130m, was a serious departure from the norm for City, even though it was ultimately unsuccessful. Kane is undoubtedly a top-bracket star who would be coveted by every club on the planet - he was simply unattainable.
And when you look at the market for this summer, there is no doubt that the two big names are Kylian Mbappe and Haaland, two players who anyone would take, given the chance. The fact that City’s main opposition for Haaland’s signature are Real Madrid, with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and United all retaining vague hopes that something could go wrong with the Blues’ bid, tells its own story.
Whether this marks a departure from their usual policy of aiming lower and shows they will now start shopping at the highest level, or whether it is a simple reaction to a pressing need, as well as a bargain opportunity that they could not afford to pass up, remains to be seen. But if they do get Haaland over the line, it is a sign that the old notion that the very best players want to go to Barca, Madrid or the red side of Manchester, is well and truly dead.
Sign up to our City newsletter so you never miss an update from the Etihad Stadium this season.
Catch up on all the latest Blues headlines in our Man City section
