How will Man City manage new signings and academy talents?
- Published
The looming punishment certainly complicates Manchester City's plans in the transfer market.
"This isn't the players' failing, it is on the club," said one leading agent. "Joining Manchester City without knowing what the punishment would be represents an undeniable risk, so any new contracts would have to have indemnities."
It was acknowledged that writing eventualities into new registrations is very difficult, though Manchester City players do have release clauses in their deals should the club enter into administration.
Until a post-appeal verdict is made, making new signings will certainly become more complicated. However, it is likely the club will still be able to attract big players as they have the financial muscle to do so.
One potential method of persuading a player to join would be to offer them a contract on big money, with no pay decreases if the club are relegated and with a fixed-fee release clause if Manchester City don't return to the top flight within a set period.
However, attracting top players will be harder if the sanctions ensure relegation and include further points deductions which stretch over multiple seasons.
The club could make a wage package hard to resist for elite players, but it seems inconceivable that a footballer of that ilk would join with demotion a possibility, as there are likely to be other top options elsewhere.
The same logic can be applied to the retention of their current squad.
With all that said, particularly if relegation occurs, Manchester City will have to rebuild their squad to some extent, though the prospect of a transfer embargo would prevent them from making any signings at all.
Such a rebuild may include the promotion of the club's best academy players, who stand to benefit if the first-team squad disbands.
For example, when Chelsea were placed under a transfer embargo in 2019, the likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, Billy Gilmour and Callum Hudson-Odoi all emerged as senior players.
However, a number of clubs are already seeing if they can capitalise on the current uncertainty by luring away City's best academy talent.
