It seems like Manchester City are confident about their summer business.
Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City’s squad is satisfactory in his eyes — despite their decision not to sign any players on deadline day.
Sporting director Txiki Begiristain also felt City have a deep squad to compete across all competitions this season.
In total, Pep Guardiola’s side signed two players and sold seven.
While City did not have a busy summer in terms of bringing players in, they certainly did from an outgoings perspective.
However, some of these deals were certainly superior to others.
- Man City summer transfer window 2024: Confirmed signings, departures, loan exits and releases
Ilkay Gundogan- A+
A strong case could be made that Manchester City’s capture of Ilkay Gundogan was the best signing of the summer across European football.
City re-signed one of the best midfielders in world football who knows the club inside and out and is their former captain and that too on a free transfer — making the deal an absolute masterstroke from the decision-makers at the Etihad Stadium.
With Gundogan’s understanding of the system, his wealth of experience and know-how of Premier League title races, it seems virtually impossible to even imagine this transfer not panning out to be flawless.
Julian Alvarez- A
Considering Julian Alvarez stands as Manchester City’s record sale at a staggering £81.5 million (BBC Sport) — with Atletico Madrid paying an initial £64.4 million including £17.1 million in potential add-ons — the profit made by the English giants is certainly worth highlighting.
After all, City signed Alvarez for £14.1 million (Guardian) in 2022 — earning a profit worth at least £50.3 million from the Copa America winner’s sale — which could rise to £67.4 million if all the add-ons are achieved.
However, the only reason why the Argentine’s exit cannot be deemed as the perfect deal for Manchester City is because ideally, the club perhaps would have liked him to stay put this summer.
Alvarez’s exit is certainly a loss to the side due to the crucial goal involvements, even though Pep Guardiola named Erling Haaland’s in-house replacements in Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan and James McAtee recently.
But due to the versatility the likes of Foden, Gundogan and McAtee as deputies for Haaland as well as a certain Bernardo Silva alongside the whopping fee in question, Alvarez’s exit is a quality deal from City’s perspective.
Savinho- A
Even before Savinho kicked a ball in a Manchester City shirt, his signing could have considered a real coup for the club.
The fact that City managed to sign the Brazilian for an initial £21 million fee followed by £12.6 million in potential add-ons makes the deal one of the bargains of the summer.
After all, the former ESTAC Troyes winger is one of the most promising young players in his position in the world.
Based on Savinho’s impressive displays in the Premier League already coupled by the fact that he is just 20, the deal is one to be proud of for Manchester City.
However, there is still plenty of time left for the youngster to well and truly prove he is the real deal.
Liam Delap- B+
Considering Liam Delap made only a handful of appearances for Manchester City, the fact that the club could generate an initial £15 million plus £5 million in potential add-ons from his move to Ipswich Town is top-quality business.
Furthermore, Fabrizio Romano revealed that City have inserted a buy-back clause in Delap’s deal — which means he could be brought back to the Etihad Stadium one day.
But considering the Sky Blues have sold some of their other young players for similar fees, such a sale has become standard procedure for the club.
Joao Cancelo- B+
Joao Cancelo’s future was finally resolved in recent days as he signed for Al Hilal for a £21.2 (TNT Sports) fee — departing Europe for the first time in his career.
Ultimately, one of Manchester City’s primary goals this summer would have been to offload the Portuguese international.
Perhaps the only question worth asking about the deal is whether City could have generated a bigger fee for Cancelo — considering he remains a top-quality full-back and had three years left on his contract at the club.
Sergio Gomez- C+
Considering Real Sociedad paid a mere £8.4 million (The Daily Mail) fee to sign Sergio Gomez, it is difficult to rate the deal as a brilliant one for Manchester City.
With Gomez winning the Gold medal with Spain at the 2024 Paris Olympics alongside the Champions League in a treble-winning season, two Premier League titles in total, a FIFA Club World Cup medal and a UEFA Super Cup as a 23-year-old — he could have potentially demanded a more significant outlay.
While the Spaniard was merely a bench player, his spell at City was solid, if not spectacular and his early days at Real Sociedad have suggested that he could be one of their most important players.
Micah Hamilton- C
With Fabrizio Romano reporting that Manchester City sold Micah Hamilton to Middlesbrough for £3.5 million, while the fee is measly, the fact that there also seems to be a buyback clause worth £11 million — which is a positive.
Considering the 20-year-old Hamilton’s sheer talent and the fact that he has already scored in the UEFA Champions League for Manchester City, one wonders whether Boro could have been asked to shell out a bigger fee.
However, an affordable buyback clause being in the deal could make it a potential masterstroke for City one day.
Alex Robertson- D+
Journalist Glen Williams reported that Cardiff City paid a £1 million fee to sign Alex Robertson from Manchester City.
City have cleverly inserted a sell-on clause in the deal for the talented Australian midfielder, which could mean they could earn a significant sum if the 21-year-old is sold by the Welsh side in the future.
With BBC Sport claiming that the fee could rise to up to £3 million, the English juggernaut perhaps found the deal hard to refuse for a gifted, yet youthful and relatively unknown commodity.
Ben Knight- D
Journalist Michael Plant revealed that Manchester City had sold Ben Knight on a free transfer to Spanish third-tier side Real Murcia.
While the presence of a 20 per cent sell-on clause could benefit the club, Knight never seemed likely to become a starter at a club with Erling Haaland and more importantly, his exit simply is not a major outgoing for the club.
