I started doing this now-regular post-summer-transfer piece back at the beginning of the 2022-23 season and it was for two closely connected reasons.
It was a season where it soon became obvious that we were ‘clearing the decks’ more than ever before; both with regards to permanent and loan transfers.
We actually moved out a whopping 35 players in total by September of 2022!
It was quite timely that I began doing this monitoring of both incoming and outgoing players as there appeared to be even more scrutiny than usual at the time about our spending; as questions intensified from all quarters ( nosey feckers! ) regarding our finances.
So, I just decided to then make this an annual blog piece and here are this summer’s figures…for City fans and nosey feckers alike:
In
Name
Elliot Anderson
Pierce Charles
Jeremy Monga
Mathys Detourbet
Geronimo Rulli
Ayyoub Bouaddi
Max-Edgar Chabot
Allan Elias
Iliman Ndiaye
Enzo Fernandez
TOTAL SUMMER EXPENDITURE: £452.6M +add-ons
Out
Name
Tomas Galvez
Joel Ndala
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey
Manuel Akanji
Nathan Ake
Luca Fletcher
Isaac Smith
Reigan Heskey
Matty Warhurst
James Trafford
Rodri
Tijjani Reijnders
Finley Burns
Savinho
Nico Gonzalez
TOTAL SUMMER INCOME: £308.697M +add-ons
BALANCE : £143.903M in the red which, when you look at the quality and price we’ve spent on incoming players, is an amazingly low figure these days; thanks to a lot of very astute deals regarding our outgoing players.
And purely for your information…
…here’s a list of players who have left on loan (or were released permanently) in the summer:
Barnardo Silva - Midfielder / Winger – R / C - Released
John Stones - Defender – Centre - Released
Oliver Whatmuff - Goalkeeper - Stockport County
Pierce Charles - Goalkeeper -Queens Park Rangers
Cass Machin -Midfielder – Centre - Released
Sverre Nypan - Midfielder – Centre - Lommel SK
Ezra Carrington - Defender – Right - Released
Mathys Detourbet - Winger / Forward – L / C - Monaco
Spike Brits - Goalkeeper - Sutton United
Divin Mubama- Striker - Centre - Southampton
Christian McFarlane - Defender – Left - Leicester City
Kalvin Phillips - Midfielder – Centre - Sheffield United
Ezra Carrington - Defender – Right - Released
Ashton Muir - Mid / Wing – L / R / C - Released
Max Alleyne - Defender – Centre - Burnley
Charlie Gray - Midfielder – Centre - Wigan Athletic
Emilio Lawrence - Midfielder / Winger – L/R/C - Luton Town
Lakyle Samuel - Defender – Right / Centre -Exeter City
Divine Mukasa - Midfielder – Centre - West Ham United
Omar Marmoush - Wing / Forw / Striker – L/R/C - Tottenham Hotspur
Stephen Mfuni - Defender – Left / Centre - Coventry City
Jeremy Monga - Winger – Left / Right -Swansea City
Jack Grealish - Midfielder / Winger – L/C -Everton
Juma Bah- Defender – Centre - FC Augsburg
Jaden Heskey - Midfielder / Forward – Centre - Sheffield Wednesday
Total number of permanent transfers out this summer: 15
Total number of exiting players this summer including those on loan or released: 40! Wow, wow, WOW! That certainly beats the number of exits from that summer transfer window of 2022 .
Thoughts on our mainly first-team-bound, incoming players?
-Eliot Anderson is an important signing not just for now but for the long-term future. Despite being a good young age at 24, this-coming November, he has bags of experience already and clearly has quality as well as a good head on his shoulders. A very shrewd signing who we pounced on early in the transfer market.
-We saw a massive change in the age of our main back-up keeper, which saw a 23-year-old depart and a 34-year-old arrive. Although I was disappointed to see James Trafford leave permanently, I was pleased to get in a fella who has bags of experience both domestically as well as for his country. Geronimo Rulli’s video clips look very good indeed, both shot stopping and distribution wise.
-I’m really excited to see more of Ayyoub Bouaddi. We were told by our manager in the Crystal Palace pre-match press conference that the Moroccan international was mature beyond his years and I could clearly see that when he came on from the bench in the 82nd minute. Yes, we were 1-3 up by then but he looked so confident and composed.
-A good, mature attitude and work ethic are two qualities that I believe to be just as important as talent and so when I read over and over again just what a crackin’ lad Allan Elias was, I soon warmed to the idea of him joining us. I say “warmed to” because when I first viewed his footage not long after we had sold Savinho (now Savio), I could not see any difference nor improvement…such as these YouTube clips are at least. But then stories began to surface in this country about the 22-year-old’s tragic losses early on in his life and how they have forged his mature mentality; with colleagues giving high praise with regards to his mind-set as a person and footballer. It was heartening to hear.
-I have to admit that I hadn’t heard of Iliman Ndiaye, despite being a player for another Premier League side and one that’s just 37.7 miles down the road. 🫢🫣 I wasn’t alone though - when I informed a fellow football fan of another local team he too said, “Who?”. Apparently Everton fans were ‘one voice’ in not wanting the ex-Hyde United loanee to leave and was very highly thought of by the club as a whole. That bodes well. Another winger to add to our wealth of wingers now at our disposal.
-And lastly, Enzo Fernandes. Quality player, for sure, but one who appears to attract a fair degree of controversy off the pitch. A good number of City fans have expressed concern about his [all-important] mentality and although I understand that he plays with ‘fire in his belly’, he does tend to leave those moments of stupidity off the grass. It might surprise some people, just as it surprised me, but he has never served a single suspension due to a red or yellow card accumulation in the Premier League. He’s had a few in other domestic and international competitions but even then, not many. Medical people will tell you that a human male’s brain doesn’t fully develop until the age of 25. Enzo was 25 on 17th January 2026. 🤞
Thank you, as always, for taking the time to read.