Whilst all eyes were focussed on the Wayne Rooney hullabaloo, David Moyes succeeding some famous manager, Jose Mourinho returning to London and Arsenal almost spending more than a fiver on a player, Manchester City have, under the radar almost, been strengthening their squad very impressively this summer.
New manager Manuel Pellegrini has wasted no time in augmenting an already massive and talented squad with Jesus Navas, Fernandinho, Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic all joining City for a combined (wait for it) £90m in transfer fees. Crikey.
But we all know City have the money and after last summer, where their transfer business came under some criticism, they have displayed a desire not only to regain the Premier League crown but also go a little further than the group stages in the Champions League.
City are throwing their financial power about like it is a game of Football Manager and next season’s odds suggest they are likely to start as favourites going into the new season.
Jovetic and Negredo are direct replacements for Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli who have left for Italy but they are world-class replacements whose price tags may have put off other clubs but not City. No, there is no price tag that could make City think twice as they continue to employ their transfer policy which reads as such: ‘throw money at it until it agrees’.
With all these nice, shiny new signings you have to say that City look best equipped to sustain a challenge throughout the 38 game league campaign whilst competing in other competitions, too.
Critics will suggest that it will take time for the new players to adapt to their new surroundings but also the pace and intensity of the Premier League. It is a fair point but when you are bringing world class players than you wouldn’t expect them to take too long to get into the swing of things.