Manchester City journalist Sam Lee has shared some details regarding the club’s ideal tactic for signing new players in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Speaking on a recent edition of The Athletic Football Podcast, Lee had this to say when asked about how the Manchester club look to sign players.
He said: “They’re definitely ‘Release Clause FC’, if they can reduce the drama as much as possible in transfers having had their fingers burnt a lot over the years with valuation changes at the last minute or bigger demands being made.
“If they can sign a player with a release clause, that is perfect for them and I suppose the next best thing is a player whose contract is running out so they’ve got the leverage. If there’s no real leverage, it becomes harder and they generally try to avoid it.”
City’s previous summer transfer business
City have not been shy when it comes to buying players over the years, whether it be through triggering release clauses or negotiating suitable price with whichever clubs they are dealing with.
The previous summer window saw the Citizens secure the services of Erling Haaland, by triggering his £51m release clause at Borussia Dortmund.
With the striker scoring 51 goals in 47 appearances across all competitions this season, this highlights how much of a smart decision it was from the club to pay what was needed for them to land Haaland.
As Lee also mentioned the option of potentially signing players that are coming towards the end of their contracts, the club also did this during the previous summer window by sealing a £15m deal for Manuel Akanji, who had entered the final year of his contract with Dortmund.
Moving forward, if City end up deploying the same tactics in the upcoming summer transfer window as they did last time around, they will need to make sure they players they target will be the right fit for what Pep Guardiola needs.
