Grok predicted Manchester City’s summer spend will reach almost £500m
This summer is the most important transfer window for Manchester City since their first under Emerati ownership in 2009 as Pep Guardiola must build the Citizens back into a trophy-winning machine after he went empty-handed for only the second time ever in 2024/25, so we thought we’d give him a little help and enlist AI to offer some advice on wheeling and dealing.
Yes, Manchester City have had more impressive transfer windows than their 2009 summer haul - 12 months later they brought David Silva, Yaya Toure, Alexander Kolarov, Mario Balotelli and James Milner to the Etihad while it’s hard to think of two more impactful signings in the same summer than Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling in 2015.
But there hasn’t been as much pressure for Manchester City to nail their transfer business since Sheikh Mansour’s first summer in the third city, with only 2017 coming close following Guardiola’s other trophyless campaign and his maiden season at the helm.
And that’s already shown in the departure De Bruyne, and a nine-figure splash on Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki and Rayan Ait-Nouri, while after we asked Grok to predict the rest of the summer at Manchester City it forecast them shelling out another £370m.
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However, it may explain who it’s so blase about throwing comparative pocket change on a player that doesn’t appear a good fit for the Guardiola system at first glance. But remember, Guardiola knows as well as anyone how damaging the Brazilian can be to opponents.
Manchester City were leading Real Madrid 5-3 on aggregate in their 2022 Champions League final second leg when Rodrygo replaced Toni Kroos with 20 minutes to go, and the Catalan could only watch in disbelief as he netted in the 90th and 91st minutes to send the game to extra time, where a Karim Benzema penalty finished off the job.
Less than two years later, Rodrygo was the only player to score in both legs when Los Blancos again ended Guardiola’s quest for another Champions League, this time at the quarter-final stage. So while the tactical case could be stronger, there’s method to Grok’s madness.
The attacking upgrades don’t stop there either as the AI backs Morgan Gibbs-White to complete a £60m move from Nottingham Forest, joining an increasingly congested competition to start alongside Erling Haaland in the attacking quartet that already features (take a breath): Cherki, Bernardo Silva, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Phil Foden, Omar Marmoush, Jack Grealish, Oscar Bobb and now Rodrygo.
However, Manchester City had the second-best attack in last season’s Premier League, but four teams had equal or better defences and Bournemouth and Newcastle were only two and three goals behind.
Luckily, Grok has answers there too in the form of signing Jarrad Branthwaite for £80m, Tino Livramento for £70m and replacing Ederson with Diogo Costa for £60m. It would be a monster outlay but one that would surely transform the Citizens back into a fortress at the back. And what would become of Ederson? The AI has the answers there too.
AI predicts Jack Grealish and Ederson lead £240m Etihad exodus
Only De Bruyne, £25m sale Yan Cuoto and two-time Champions League winner Scott Carson have left Manchester City so far this summer but that list is expected to grow substantially to help facilitate this spending spree, and Grok clearly agrees listing another seven players departing for fees.
The biggest moneyspinners are Grealish and Ederson, with the AI backing Tottenham to launch a stunning raid for the England international and predicting the goalkeeper will become the latest big-name Brazilian to head to the Saudi Pro League, for £60m and £50m respectively.
Kyle Walker joins Tammy Abraham in Turkey, signing for Fenerbahce for £15m, while the AI believes Kalvin Phillips can raise £20m in 2025, predicting Leeds will attempt to revive their old star.
The defensive overhaul continues as Grok lists Manuel Akanji and John Stones also departing to Inter Milan and Everton, raising a combined £65m, but the most fascinating move it suggests is John McAtee swapping places with GIbbrs-White, moving to Nottingham Forest for £30m
AI-predicted 2025/26Man City starting XI: Bewilderingly, Grok opted not to put Branthwaite into the Citizens’ starting lineup for next season, instead selecting a 4-2-3-1 of - Costa; Livramento, Dias, Guardiola, Ait-Nouri; Rodri, Reijnders; Rodrygo, Cherki, Foden; Haaland.
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