Manchester City have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Liverpool star Raheem Sterling, after being cleared by Financial Fair Play regulators to launch a mass spending spree this summer.
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City have been very quiet in the transfer market so far this summer, but according to reports in the Daily Mail they are now preparing offers for Sterling, Paul Pogba and Kevin De Bruyne.
This comes after City met their Financial Fair Play target set by UEFA, meaning that they are free to spend as they wish after having their business capped last year.
As BBC Sport tell us, City have already had two offers for Sterling turned down by Liverpool, with the most recent believed to be worth around £40m when including add-ons.
But now, after receiving the go ahead from FFP, City are prepared to up their offer – potentially to meet our £50m asking price, although there’s a much stronger likelihood that a compromise will be reached.
This all seems rather strange. The Mail’s story has been reported by a number of sources and is probably true, but it’s worth remembering that despite their restrictions, City still brought in the likes of Wilfried Bony and Eliaquim Mangala last season – how is that meeting any sort of target? Even if they did meet it, surely spending £150m on three players this summer will make a mockery of their previous punishment.
Anyway, we can at least take comfort in the fact that we’ve done solid transfer business ourselves this summer, and can look forward to the prospect of Sterling’s sale essentially refunding the money we’ve spent on six players!