‘Incredible…’ – Sky Sports man wowed by ‘superb’ behind-scenes business at Man City

Sky Sports pundit Paul Robinson believes it is incredible that Manchester City have recorded a profit in the transfer window this summer, given the calibre of their signings.

The Premier League summer transfer window is closed once again and the 20 English top-flight clubs totalled nearly £2billion of spending on new signings.

Nine of them spent £100million or more with Nottingham Forest completing a remarkable 21 signings so far – with a 22nd to come in Serge Aurier.

Premier League clubs spent more than teams from Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and the German Bundesliga combined with Chelsea spending more in a single window than any other club in the league’s history.

But who had the best window, and who had the worst?

Robinson, who works as a pundit for Sky Sports amongst others, believes Txiki Begiristain’s business in the transfer market was nothing short of brilliant, due to the surprising amount of profit the club made.

Speaking with Football Insider, the former Tottenham goalkeeper claimed:

“They are incredible figures, especially when you take into account the fact that Pep Guardiola never sells a player that he wants to keep at the club. They have sold to rivals which shows that he isn’t too bothered about losing them.

“The players that have come in are superb. I think they have replaced with better players and made money while doing it.

“I know the Haaland package as a whole is a huge financial commitment but the transfer fee was less than [Marc] Cucurella and Antony. They have not overpaid for players.

“They have done their business quickly and wisely. To come out with a profit is incredible for a club of City’s stature.”

Huge Business by Manchester City

Recruiting Erling Haaland would be enough for them to win the transfer window alone. No surprises whatsoever here… splashing only £51m on Haaland’s transfer fee is one of the biggest coups in Premier League history.

The 22-year-old is already one of Europe’s best strikers and Man City are already reaping the rewards. He’s registered ten goals and an assist in his opening five league games, including back-to-back hat-tricks. A phenom of a player.

Oleksandr Zinchenko, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus’ big-money exits have helped Man City make a profit, despite signing one of Europe’s best strikers and an established England international in Kalvin Phillips, among others. Incredible business.

All that for a net profit of £36.2m, while keeping Bernardo Silva, ensuring dressing-room harmony and increasing motivation levels, really does make it all seem quite unfair.

Manchester City Full Summer Window Transfer Summary: Every player signed and sold

Ins

Erling Haaland (£54m from Borussia Dortmund)
Kalvin Phillips (£44.1m from Leeds United)
Manuel Akanji (£15.75 from Borussia Dortmund)
Sergio Gomez (£11.7m from RSC Anderlecht)
Stefan Ortega (free transfer from Arminia Bielefeld)
Emilio Lawrence (free transfer from Everton)

Outs

Raheem Sterling (£50.6m to Chelsea)
Gabriel Jesus (£47m to Arsenal)
Oleksandr Zinchenko (£31.5m to Arsenal)
Gavin Bazunu (£12.6m to Southampton)
Romeo Lavia (£11m to Southampton)
Samuel Edozie (£10m to Southampton)
Pedro Porro (£7.65m to Sporting)
Juan Larios (£6m to Southampton)
Darko Gyabi (£5.2m to Leeds United)
Ko Itakura (4.5m to Borussia Monchengladbach)
Arijanet Muric (£2.5m to Burnley)
Claudio Gomes (to Palermo)
Ante Palaversa (to Troyes)
Marlos Moreno (to Troyes)
CJ Egan-Riley (free transfer to Burnley)
Luca Barrington (free transfer to Brighton & Hove Albion)
Kwaku Oduroh (free transfer to Derby County)
Jayden Braaf (free transfer to Borussia Dortmund)
Pablo Moreno (free transfer to Maritimo)
Fernandinho (free transfer to Club Athletico Paranaense)
Daniel Arzani (free transfer to Macarthur)
Ryotaro Meshino (free transfer to Gamba Osaka)
Thomas Agyepong (released)
Mohammed Aminu (released)