Don Hutchison stunned by Man City transfer business after ‘amazing’ new development
Man City and Pep Guardiola are being lauded for yet more fantastic business during the winter transfer window.
Gianluigi Donnarumma has been a signing of the season at the Etihad Stadium, with Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi both making splashes since their arrivals in January.
While James Trafford’s return has not been a fairytale, he is yet another positive addition to Guardiola’s squad, with the Citizens aiming for their 11th Premier League title this term.
There have been very high-profile exits at the Etihad since the winter window swung open at the beginning of January, but that has changed now that Fulham have agreed to sign Oscar Bobb.
Marco Silva’s side are set to splash £27million on the Norwegian international, with City having a 20 per cent sell-on clause and future matching rights, with outgoings covering the costs of two huge signings.
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Guehi and Semenyo have already made tremendous impacts since their respective arrivals, but thanks to outgoing transfers and a sublime academy production line, the transfers almost pay for themselves.
Taking to X (28 January), reacting to news of Bobb’s departure, Hutchison wrote: “This means Man City paid £50-odd-million for [Antoine] Semenyo and [Marc] Guehi = amazing deal.
“With [Manuel] Akanji going to Inter Milan for £15million, it’s next to nothing,” with a clapping emoji.
Phil Foden is the most successful academy product, but Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia, Jadon Sancho, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and Liam Delap, to name just a few, have made millions when finding new clubs.
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Palmer leads the figures by quite some margin, going to Chelsea for £42.5million, with many now believing that the Chelsea star is worth north of £100million.
After him is Kelechi Iheanacho, who fetched £25million when signing for Leicester City in 2017, shortly followed by Lavia, Brahim Diaz, Angelino, and Sancho.
Of course, Trafford is on the list, but he is one of the very few who have been given a chance to shine at the Etihad, albeit after returning from two seasons with Burnley.
City have one of the most prestigious academy buildings in the Premier League, in terms of the physical building and the talent within it, with many of the sales helping to afford so many incredible stars.
Guardiola continues to build what could be a title-winning team ahead of the second half of the Premier League season, and he has multiple academy products to thank for some of his signings.