Manchester City and the Transfer Window

Here we go again.

Manchester City has picked up right where they left off in the last two transfer windows. But last year, while City bought good players like Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge and Craig Bellamy, none of them could be considered absolute world beaters (Robinho being the obvious, but lone exception).

This summer, City has only made two signings, yet the quality of player they are signing so far this summer as opposed to last has significantly improved. Gareth Barry is a regular England international at a position (central midfield) that is overrun with talent. Today, City announced that they had signed Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn for a cool 17 million pounds. Even with all of his injury problems last year, I rate him very highly.

Now enter Carlos Tevez, a transfer target for City who would dwarf any other signing that City could make this summer. His talents, when fully utilized, are tremendous. I think we got just a sniff of what he is capable of at Manchester United since he didn't receive consistent playing time last season. And he's only 25 years old - his golden years are still ahead of him. When it was announced that Tevez would not be returning to Old Trafford next season, the rumors immediately began to link him with United's crosstown rival. Chelsea have stuck their nose in as well, but all signs point to Tevez signing with City.

If Tevez does join Mark Hughes' squad, then I believe Manchester City's international appeal will surely be fulfilled. With his presence, City will finally be able to lure world class players like they failed to do last year with both Kaka and Ronaldinho. Their signings thus far have shown that they are already attracting a higher quality player than they were last year, and this serious interest from Tevez certainly would not have been possible from City's position last year.