Man City can surprise Man United with £40m move to scupper Dan Ashworth transfer plan

Manchester City were pushed all the way by Manchester United before winning on penalties at Wembley on Saturday.

With another trophy in the bag - albeit the lesser recognised Community Shield - Pep Guardiola and his star-studded City side have laid down a firm marker to the Premier League's chasing pack ahead of next weekend's opening round of fixtures. A team in transition? Not quite.

In recent times, barring their recent all-Manchester FA Cup final - also beneath the famous arch, Manchester United have barely laid a glove on City on or off the pitch. It might be the right time, yet again, to beat them to the punch.

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As their rivals attempt to play catch up, City have been watchful in the transfer market. A swoop worth £20million for promising Brazilian starlet Savinho remains their only permanent addition so far this summer.

Arsenal have been similarly patient, but Tottenham have spent big and Chelsea have been Chelsea-like. Down the road, impending deals for Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt will take United's spend under Ineos way beyond the £150million-mark with further signings wanted, but dependant on player sales being sanctioned.

City, armed by an unexpected £82million windfall, have no such financial constraints.

But what will Guardiola and key figures responsible for transfers at the Etihad Stadium do with that Julian Alvarez money? A revised search for back-up to Erling Haaland seems inevitable, even though there are in-house solutions.

Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva could each play as the false nine whenever Haaland is unavailable. However, that would dilute their