There’s a couple of different ways to look at it, one that the City board has the ambition and won’t accept a poor season of not challenging for trophies, or here goes Pep again needing to spend 100s of millions to be able to compete. Whichever way you look at it the bigger question for us is are these signings going to make the difference?

When you look at the players City are trying to replace such as De Bruyne, Gundogan is a shadow of his former self, Kyle Walker going, are the new recruits of the same ilk, we’re not so sure they are replacing with the same quality. Nico Gonzalez, Khushanov, fees amounting 100m between them, but don’t appear to be of the desired quality for City, now we are looking at Reijnders, Cherki and Ait Nouri. There is quality there and there is no doubting Pep is a great manager so can he turn the new signings into the players of years gone by for City. They will need him to as another poor season for Pep and City could spell the end of his tenure ahead of his scheduled departure in 2027.

I’d back them to be there or thereabouts again at the end of the season but the blank chequebook leaves a sour taste in the mouth amidst the on-going charges too.

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