Manchester City could lose their number seven and number nine in the same transfer window and still come out of it feeling stronger than last season.
City have been quietly efficient in the transfer window this season, sealing a deal for Julian Alvarez in January and wrapping up the biggest transfer in the summer to sign Erling Haaland before there was any chance of a saga or chase to develop. Agreeing a deal for Kalvin Phillips is another good move, quickly replacing outgoing captain Fernandinho.
Given the arrival of Haaland and Alvarez, it's understandable that some players may want to leave, and it seems Gabriel Jesus is set for Arsenal, while Chelsea have approached City to see if Raheem Sterling is available. If both of those deals go through, City could be looking at an unprecedented transfer window where they sign all their targets and still end up in profit.
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Haaland cost just £51m thanks to his Borussia Dortmund release clause, with Alvarez costing an initial £14m in January. The fee for Phillips is an initial £42m, taking City's spend so far to £107m.
That is a significant expenditure, and there may still be more to come if a left-back is signed, however City's increasing power as a selling club allowed them to offset Jack Grealish's £100m signing last summer by £40m and could put them in profit this year.
The £55m sale of Ferran Torres to Barcelona in January essentially pays for Haaland, while Sporting's £8m purchase of Pedro Porro and Darko Gyabi's expected £5m move to Leeds increases the incomings to £68m already - paying for Alvarez as well. The fee for Jesus is around £45m, which is comparable to the Phillips fee and would take City to a profit of around £6m for deals already done or agreed, while Gavin Bazunu has also left on a permanent transfer for Southampton.
Then, any further sales would pay for any more new signings, and if the reported fee of around £50-60m for Sterling is received, that gives plenty of room to play with. There are also reports of youngster Sam Edozie joining Bayer Leverkusen for £10m, and loanee Ko Itakura could be worth another £5m.
Unless any new left-back was a genuine world-class player, it's likely those potential incoming fees would easily cover the cost. That means City could realistically end the transfer window having signed the best young striker in the world, the South American footballer of the year, and an England international - all while making profit.
Since Sheikh Mansour took over the club in 2008, they have never received more in transfer fees than they have paid, yet that could be a possibility if Sterling and Jesus leave for a combined £100m.
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