Manchester City have headed in a different direction with their 2025 transfers that could influence their future.
Tijjani Reijnders with Rayan Cherki
Tijjani Reijnders with Rayan Cherki
When Pep Guardiola arrived in English football looking to take it by storm, he opted for some Spanish comforts. Nolito and Claudio Bravo were among the 2016 signings plucked from La Liga to improve the Manchester City team, only things didn't go to plan.
In a chastening and trophyless first season, Guardiola came to realise that proven Premier League experience was what he needed. The club paid £50m for Kyle Walker in 2017, £60m for Riyad Mahrez in 2018, £100m for Jack Grealish in 2021 and would have paid even more for Harry Kane that year if Spurs hadn't refused to sell him.
Along with John Stones, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, and Fabian Delph, there was an English core to Guardiola's City for a good few years as they won everything in sight and set all manner of records. As Guardiola had done in Spain and Germany, having players who have been raised in the league really does help.
City's Treble year had a distinctly German feel to it as the team evolved. Joining captain Ilkay Gundogan in the summer of 2022 were Erling Haaland, Manu Akanji and Stefan Ortega from the Bundesliga.
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Those four were all critical to more history for the Blues and Omar Marmoush is looking another promising addition after arriving from Frankfurt in January. City's success rate with Bundesliga signings is sky-high.
This year - the first with Hugo Viana on board as he replaces Txiki Begiristain as sporting director - has seen a turn to a new league though. It isn't that others have been ignored, but of the nine signings so far no country has been turned to for talent more than France.
Abdukodir Khusanov came from Lens in the January window before Rayan Cherki signed ahead of the Club World Cup for a combined £64m, while Juma Bah was loaned to Lens for the second half of last season and has now joined Nice for the next campaign; it is only two years since Jeremy Doku was bought from Rennes, with hopes that he could have a big season.
Bah's loan moves feel as significant as the permanent purchases in terms of marking the French league out, given how careful City are around developing players. The young central defender had interest from teams in many other leagues, including England, so for him to be allowed to go to France indicates how highly rated it is now at the Etihad.
With Bernardo Silva now club captain eight years after his move from Monaco, City's future could well have a French flavour to it.
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