The summer of 2012 was a disappointing one in terms of transfers for Manchester City, missing out on several of the big players, and not replacing those targets with other high-quality ones. Many fans expected the Blues to build well on their squad that had won the Premier League title the season before, but mix-ups with the board, and the management caused the big players to move to title rivals, who reaped the benefits. Instead of signing Eden Hazard and Robin van Persie, City signed players like Scott Sinclair and Maicon.
Missing out on these key players cost City dearly last season, as they failed to hold onto their title, and also lost in the FA Cup final against Wigan Athletic. Aside from Matija Nastasic, the young Serbian defender signed from Fiorentina last summer, the transfers made by the Blues last year had little effect mainly down to injuries, but also in some cases, because they simply weren’t good enough to have a defining effect in the squad.
On the other hand, the big players that City missed out on were enjoying great success elsewhere, particularly in the case of Robin Van Persie at Manchester United. Despite reportedly being close to joining Manchester City at one point, he eventually joined their fierce rivals United, and fired them to the title with 26 league goals in his first season as his team won their 20th league title. They finished a huge 11 points ahead of City, leaving the Blues wondering what could have been if they’d signed the Dutchman, van Persie.
However, with a new manager at the helm, City have set about signing all their players early on in this transfer window, capturing four players from around Europe, for fees totalling around £90 million, a far-cry from last summer, when players were bought after the start of the season, giving them very little time to settle in. These players have also been for the positions in which City are weakest, leaving them with a very strong squad that should be able to challenge next season.
As well as transfers in, some big names have also been linked with moves out of the Etihad. However, only one of these has come to fruition so far, with Carlos Tevez leaving for Juventus after four years with the Blues since signing from United in 2009. However, after a controversial spell in the blue half of Manchester, he has decided it’s time to depart England, and join the Italian champions as he reaches the latter stages of his career.
Tevez’s departure became the second of a top striker from City in 2013, with Mario Balotelli having departed for AC Milan in January, again after a controversial spell in Manchester, and also left the Blues with just two recognised strikers in the squad, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko. This meant that one of the priorities for City this summer had to be two new strikers to replace the duo that had left for Serie A. It took a month until these two were signed, but both came at once, on the same day last week.
The first one of these was Alvaro Negredo, who was linked with City ever since the departure of Tevez. The Spanish striker scored 25 in La Liga last year, and was the top-scoring Spaniard in the division. Signed for about £20m, he could prove to be a very good purchase in my eyes, especially if he can replicate his scoring feats of his time at Sevilla here in England too. From what we’ve seen of him in a City shirt so far, he looks good, and could be a great option for City to use over the next few years, as they look to win more trophies.
The other striker to come in, just a few hours after Negredo, was Stevan Jovetic, who had been long-linked with City for a few years now, despite interest from other clubs. The Montenegrin scored 13 goals in Serie A last season, and for a striker who’s stated in the past that he prefers not to play as an out-and-out striker, this could prove a very useful asset for City to have over the coming years. If he has the desired effect at the Etihad, the fee of £22m that City paid could turn out to be a bargain, especially if he contributes heavily to league titles along the way.
Those two strikers haven’t been the only players to have come into the club in this transfer window. Manuel Pellegrini’s team have also been working on improving the midfield, which is something that has lacked various aspects on many occasions over the last couple of years, so is obviously something that the Chilean wants to sort out early in his reign, before it causes serious problems later on.
The first signing of the transfer window was Jesus Navas from Sevilla, a Spanish winger well-known to many around Europe. For £14.9m, this transfer could turn out to be a steal, especially as a proper winger is something that City have been lacking over the last couple of years, which should now be sorted out. Having also played with Alvaro Negredo for the last four years at Sevilla, I can see those two players linking up very well in the attacking play for City this season, to devastating effect. I think he will also provide better service for Edin Dzeko than he received under Mancini, and could help him make a better impact this year than last time.
City’s most expensive signing this summer so far, has been the one of Fernandinho from Shakhtar Donetsk, for around £30 million. Having played in Ukraine for the last few years, he has been out of sight of many football fans, except for glimpses they get in the Champions League, meaning they aren’t sure what to expect from the Brazilian, leading many to believe that the Blues have overpaid for the 28-year-old. From what I’ve heard about and seen of Fernandinho, he looks like a very similar player to Yaya Toure, who has had such a huge effect at City since signing from Barcelona three years ago. I feel that if these two players link up as well as I believe they can do, it’ll be a menacing partnership for Premier League teams to face over the next season or two.
Other names have also been mentioned in regards to a possible move to Manchester, mainly on the defensive side of the game, with Kolo Toure having left the club at the end of his contract earlier this summer, leaving City to look for a replacement. Real Madrid’s Pepe has been heavily linked for weeks now, and although he would bring a lot of experience to the Etihad, Real’s asking price could be putting both fans and staff at the club off of making a serious attempt to sign him. In recent days, Valencia’s French international Adil Rami has been linked with moves to City and Arsenal, with the La Liga club allegedly willing to accept fees of around £7.75 million for the 27-year-old. He seems like a much better option than Pepe, as he is three years younger, and also a lot cheaper, which would allow City to invest more money in any more players they’re in for.
I think the purchases that City have made so far this summer are a vast improvement on the disappointment of last year, and leaves us with a much better chance of winning the title this time around, than we did at the start of the season a year ago. We’ve not only improved our squad greatly, but we’re also improving more than our title rivals are. Manchester United, under new boss David Moyes, have missed out on several targets this summer, and are yet to sign any players of note, while Chelsea seem to be dedicating all their efforts towards signing United’s striker Wayne Rooney, and not on the other positions they’re after. I think this leaves City with a very good chance of taking advantage, and also leaves them in a good position for the rest of the season. It’s shaping up to be a very good year for Pellegrini’s men, but football is always unpredictable, and it may not turn out this way. You just can’t call it, and it could also lead to a very closely-fought title battle this season.
Written by Ben – @TheBlueViews
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