Manchester City are not a club who struggle financially.
Those at the Etihad Stadium are even believed to be able to spend up to £300m on new signings this summer if they want to, with plenty of wriggle room in terms of PSR (Profit and Sustainability Rules) in the Premier League.
This financial power is already being flexed, with Manchester City close to signing Tijjani Reijnders in a £60m move, while a £33.7m deal for Rayan Ait-Nouri is also near.
Now, a welcome development has occurred which could help Manchester City pay the Algeria international’s salary for over three years.
Manchester City receive £6m after Liam Delap seals £30m move to Chelsea
Chelsea have now signed Liam Delap – who impressed Manchester City fans years ago – after triggering the £30m release clause written into his contract at Ipswich Town.
It represents a £10m increase on the £20m fee Ipswich Town handed Manchester City for the England U21 international back in July, although the Tractor Boys will not receive the entire sum, as they agreed to give the Citizens a 20% sell-on clause.
That obviously means Manchester City have now banked a £6m sum, which, while some might consider it to be a drop in the ocean for a club this rich, will help finance the Ait-Nouri deal.
At the moment, the Algerian earns £33,000-a-week at Wolves, according to Salary Sport.
We expect him to get a pay rise at the Etihad Stadium, but if not, the £6m fee secured from Delap would actually be enough to pay Ait-Nouri’s wages for 181 weeks.
It just goes to show the value of having a productive youth set-up, as the City Football Academy now bears some fruit for Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City fans should expect more payments like this
While Manchester City arguably should have kept the likes of Romeo Lavia and, definitely, Cole Palmer, negotiating these sell-on clauses is a fine way to keep money coming into the club.
Not only do these two look set to have very bright careers, but the likes of James McAtee, Oscar Bobb and Nico O’Reilly will also surely shine elsewhere if Guardiola ever offloads them, and have the talent to earn a lucrative move like Delap, where another sell-on clause could end up benefitting Manchester City later down the line.
