Stefan Borson: Man City could sell stars to fund January signing spree
Manchester City are battling for the Premier League title after closing the gap at the top of the table.
Man City beat Sunderland 3-0 on Saturday (6 December) to move within two points of league leaders Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola could look to strengthen his squad in the January transfer window to provide extra firepower in the second half of the campaign.
Man City have been linked with Antoine Semenyo, who has a £65million release clause in his Bournemouth contract that can be activated next month.
It has been also reported Man City are planning to accelerate their pursuit of Elliot Anderson following his impressive performances for Nottingham Forest.
Stefan Borson drops Man City spending power update
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Guardiola’s side will likely have to sell players to free up space for new signings as they are close to their budgets.
The Manchester giants will soon post their accounts for last season, providing an insight into their financial situation.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “I do have a feeling that they’re getting right up towards their budgets really. I mean, they’ve got a very high wage bill.
“All the players that they’ve signed over the last two windows I think accumulate quite a lot of additional amortisation. We’ll soon get the 2024-25 amortisation number, which will just give us a feel for where it is now.
“The only reason I say that’s relevant is just although City do sell very well and therefore do have quite a lot to add in that line in the calculations for both PSR and SCR at the profit level, I do think that there is a limit to how far they can stretch both on amortisation from transfer fees and also wages. I think they are really pushing up against that.”
Man City have the highest wage bill in the Premier League after their total stood at £413million in their latest published accounts for 2023-24.
Man City could reduce their wage bill in January
Borson insisted Man City will have to reduce their wage bill if they want to strengthen significantly in January.
“I think really what they’re going to have to do soon is start to reduce the size of that wage bill,” said Borson.
“Now, maybe it’s fine if you’re winning all the time, you sort of take a view on it. But they had an off season last season.
“I think I can just see them being a little bit more cautious. There’s been some talk about a number of transactions in January. I just don’t think that that’s particularly realistic without selling players.”
Man City’s next fixture sees them take on Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday (10 December).
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