That, of course, means clubs up and down the land will be shifting their transfer activity up a few gears.
Sunday’s media round-up has City linked with numerous deals, the latest of which is Roma centre-half Antonio Rudiger
The Daily Star write: “Chelsea look set to complete the signing of Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco.
“Manchester City were also keen on the French midfielder. And, according to the Mirror, Pep Guardiola is desperate not to lose out to Chelsea for a second time this summer.
“They claim City are set to step up their interest in Rudiger, 24. The Germany centre-back is being linked with a £35m move to Stamford Bridge.
“But the Mirror say City have also been scouting him for the past few months. And they will apparently make their interest concrete with an offer this week.
“The Mirror suggest the chance to work with Guardiola at the Etihad could influence Rudiger’s decision.”
One on-going transfer link that seems to have plenty of fuel left in the tank is City’s alleged interest in Alexis Sanchez.
There has been a definite shift in the reporting over the past few days, however, suggesting Arsenal will block their star player moving to a Premier League rival.
The Express report: “Sanchez’s Arsenal future remains the future of uncertainty, with the Chilean yet to commit his future to the club.
“Moves to Manchester City and Bayern Munich have been mooted, although the latter appear to have cooled their interest with the Gunners driving up the asking price of their prized asset.
“Bayern were supposedly prepared to pay Sanchez a whopping £350,000 a week to make the switch to the Allianz Arena.
“City are eager to strike a deal, with Pep Guardiola hoping to seal a reunion with the 28-year-old at the Etihad.
“And according to the Sunday Mail, City could be a tough sale as Arsene Wenger doesn’t want to see Sanchez joint direct rival.
“Instead, Sanchez will be told he has to join a foreign club instead.”
The Daily Mail carry a similar story: “Arsenal will tell Alexis Sanchez he will not be sold to Manchester City, meaning their pre-season is likely to be disrupted by the desire of the forward to join Pep Guardiola.
“Sanchez, who became Chile’s record scorer last week and will play in Sunday’s Confederations Cup final against Germany, is set on a move to City — but Arsene Wenger is determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past by selling to their biggest rivals.
“Now they have the financial strength to refuse any bid, they will tell Sanchez to join a foreign club, with Paris Saint-Germain favourites, or see out the final year of his deal, when he can leave on a free.”
And finally…
City are well represented in a talkSPORT Premier League hot-shot list of the 25 most lethal finishers in the Premier League era, based on players who have made 30 or more top-flight appearances.
The best minutes per goal ratio ever lists sees Sergio Aguero at No.2 and Kelechi Iheanacho at the summit – with a better record than Robin van Persie, Alan Shearer and Diego Costa.
Not a bad stat to have on your CV! Read the list for yourself in the Express...
