Will the change in Manchester City’s transfer policy pay off?

Roberto Mancini openly criticized Brian Marwood earlier this summer; presumably because of the failure to tempt both Eden Hazard, and Robin Van Persie to the club, as well as the lack of a new centre-back (doesn’t that new 5-3-2 formation seem weird with only one great centre-back?). The mega-rich Manchester club seem to be taking the upcoming Financial Fair Play more seriously than any others this summer, buying English youngsters, rather than the imported superstar, and I believe these signings may actually help all parties.

Jack Rodwell

From an early age,many tipped Rodwell to be a future England star, first at centre-back, then as a central midfielder. Now at the age of 21, he hasn’t really progressed too much as a player, largely down to injuries. It was obvious, due to the panic signings of Owen Hargreaves and David Pizarro, and the public pursuit of Danielle De Rossi, that Mancini wanted to strengthen his central midfield, possibly allowing YayaToure to play further forward when needed, and Rodwell, being the age he is, as well as being English, was the perfect fit. He may not have even been in Everton’s first team this season, so a £15 million sum to spend on the rest of the squad(strikers)works out well for them. For Rodwell himself, it can only benefit him, training with world class players every week, as well as being involved in a title challenge. His England career should be boosted too, as a back-up for Man City is going to get more of a chance than someone who wasn’t a guaranteed starter for Everton.

Scott Sinclair

Although this one hasn’t actually happened yet, because of the disagreement in the fee between the two clubs, it seems likely it will. Scott Sinclair is another player who was very talented as a youngster, but unlike Rodwell, had to go down a league to realise his potential. Loan moves to a string of Championship clubs, followed by a permanent move to Swansea, saw Sinclair move into the premiership and continue his development. A regular scorer for the Welsh club, the move for Man City seems to make sense, because of the loss of Adam Johnson to Sunderland (see below), and again, because of the nationality and age of the player. Michael Laudrup’s new-look Swansea side could use the fee (probably around £8million now), to replace Sinclair, perhaps with Pablo Hernandez of Valenica, and Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer have started the season brilliantly too. Much like Rodwell, Sinclair will be considered more for England now, as a result of this move, especially if he shows as much impact as Adam Johnson did, when he was used sparingly as a sub for the Eastlands side.

One signing which wasn’t spoke about much about this summer, was that of Adam Johnson to Sunderland, and this is one where I can really see benefiting the player, especially in terms of his England future. Johnson has much more guile, than that of Theo Walcott, and when playing against lesser teams playing deep against England, he would be much more useful than the Arsenal speedster. Playing regular football, in a side where they will probably look to give him the ball as much as possible, should really galvanize Johnson’s career, let’s just hope City don’t come calling again in a few years.

 Matthew Morlidge, @MattMorlidge

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