Manchester City's summer transfer window: Chaotic, but eventually successful

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After winning the treble last season, many people could've logically argued that Manchester City didn't really need to strengthen in the summer transfer window. But, that was never going to be likely.

In successful teams, players come and go all the time, as a way of freshening up the squad and keeping the hunger to win more. At the end of last season, it was the futures of Ilkay Gundogan, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez that remained very much undecided.

City had one of the smallest squads in the league last season, and with the added pressure of the Club World Cup, it'd have been beneficial for City to add at least one more body to the mix. If any of the above players left, then they'd need replacing.

Usually, City follow their own strict rules: the club would identify a transfer target, put a price on that player, approach the player and his representatives to find out whether they'd be interested in a move, and then begin negotiations with the selling club and the player himself.

City got their first bit of business of the summer done with relatively little fuss, and that was the signing of Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea, for a fee of £25 million, with a further £5 million in add ons.

That deal was relatively simple, given the fact that Chelsea were willing to sell him and Kovacic was keen on moving to East Manchester. Also, the board decided that they should sign the 29 year old regardless of any outgoings, which meant City could complete the deal swiftly.

Just the day before City's media team announced Kovacic, it was decided that Gundogan, City's captain, would not renew his contract at the club, which meant he left the club on a free transfer in the summer, which put City ideally in the market for signing a new midfielder.

The top target was 20 year old Jude Bellingham, who had attracted suitors from top clubs across Europe. City wanted to sign him, but Bellingham was never really interested in a move to the Premier League Champions, and instead signed for Real Madrid.

City lodged a bid for West Ham skipper Declan Rice a few weeks after Gundogan's departure, worth £80 million with £10 million in realistic add ons. However, this bid was rejected out of hand, as the 24 year old ended up signing for Arsenal instead, in a deal worth north of £100 million.

Things went quiet surrounding City and a new midfielder after this point, as rumour had it that Pep Guardiola was satisfied in having Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic competing for a place in midfield.

Keeping Bernardo at the Etihad for at least another season was always crucial to City's transfer plans, such is his versatility and quality, making him one of the very best players in the world.

Eventually, after weeks of negotiations, the Portugal international signed a one year extension at the club, which'll see his deal expire in 2026, by which point he'll be 33 years old, and very much towards the end of his career.

The same applied to Kyle Walker. Despite strong rumours he was going to move to German champions Bayern Munich in the summer, he confirmed in an interview recently that he is set to extend his City contract for another 2 seasons, meaning City didn't need to find a way to replace him.

After impressive seasons last year, we also saw new bumper contracts for Rico Lewis and Nathan Ake in the summer, as City looked to reward two players who contributed greatly to the treble last year.

Whilst all this was going on, City were still looking to recruit, and had their eyes set on young defender Josko Gvardiol as a priority target. After long weeks of negotiation, a premature "Here We Go" from Fabrizio Romano and rumours City were prepared to search for alternative targets, City finally scraped the deal over the line, for a fee of about £77 million.

This saw the exit door open for Aymeric Laporte, who departed to the Saudi Pro League, joining Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. Riyad Mahrez also moved to Saudi Arabia a few weeks earlier, as he joined Al-Ahli for a fee of about £30 million.

This was City's squad heading into their first home game of the 2023/24 season, leaving fans worried about squad depth. However, there was plenty of late movement from City's perspective in the window still to come.

City went after another West Ham midfielder in Lucas Paqueta, and had reportedly agreed a deal of £85 million for the 25 year old, until it was revealed that he was under investigation from the FA over alleged breaches of the strict betting rules.

This left City scrambling for another midfield target, with concern amongst even the most optimistic of fans beginning to grow, especially considering Kevin de Bruyne's hamstring injury leaving him out for the rest of 2023.

Amidst the last minute search, City got a deal done for Jeremy Doku from Rennes, for approximately £55 million. The Belgian came highly recommended by Kevin de Bruyne, and it'll be interesting to see how he fits into the side, as the first pacey winger signing since Leroy Sane.

On deadline day, City finally got another midfield signing done, as they completed a deal for Wolves' Matheus Nunes, who will likely act as backup for Rodri and the 8 positions.

There was still time for 2 senior departures on the final day of the window. Joao Cancelo joined Barcelona on a straight loan, whilst Cole Palmer joined Chelsea on a permanent transfer, for a deal that could reach £45 million.

James McAtee and Maximo Perrone joined Sheffield United and Las Palmas respectively, whilst Kalvin Phillips stayed at the club, despite reported interest from Liverpool, Everton and West Ham.

Despite things being slightly more tumultuous than usual, Manchester City's board can hold their heads high, after yet another successful window.

They secured their two top targets in Kovacic and Gvardiol, both of whom have settled excellently so far in Guardiola's system. They negotiated both deals excellently, particularly Gvardiol, who had a release clause worth considerably more than what City paid for him, that would've been eligible from next season.

They'd have preferred to have kept Gundogan, but they have replaced him with Nunes, a talented player with his career ahead of him, and one who has been admired by Guardiola since his Sporting days.

Bellingham, Rice and Paqueta have all slipped the net, but the last time City were forced to sign their 4th choice option in a position, it was Ruben Dias, who's career since then has turned out much better than Harry Maguire, Kalidou Koulibaly and Jules Kounde, who City preferred ahead of him.

They'd have preferred to have kept Mahrez, but they have replaced him with Doku, a promising young player with bags of potential to thrive on the top stage under Guardiola's guidance.

They wanted to keep Palmer too, but they've got a fair price and a sell on clause, which can't really be argued with. Plus, it's unlikely Chelsea are going to provide any real threat to City in the next few years, so, unlike with Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, City aren't putting themselves in danger by selling to a direct rival.

The club secured good loan moves for Perrone and McAtee, whilst they rewarded important players with fair contracts, in Bernardo, Lewis and Ake. Erling Haaland will hopefully be next on the list, with reports emerging that City are negotiating fresh terms with the 23 year old.

Despite all the premature negative noise surrounding the club during the window, Pep, Txiki and co showed once again that they know how to run a football club much better than "the Twitter guys!"