Man City could finally sign player Pep Guardiola has already praised for nothing in the summer

Manchester City haven't had the need to shop in the bargain bucket in recent years but they recently proved they're not averse to a good deal when they can find one.

City didn't go into the summer planning to buy a centre-back and appeared to have little intention of doing so with a week remaining of the window. Yet, after being given a warning on how light they could be when John Stones and Nathan Ake briefly joined Aymeric Laporte on the sidelines, they moved to bring in some reinforcements.

In what could well be the bargain of the summer (other than Erling Haaland, of course) the Blues added Manuel Akanji to Pep Guardiola's squad for a mere £15million. Just three games in and the centre-back has seamlessly fitted into the side and looks to be very smart piece of recruitment.

ALSO READ: 'I don't know his problem' - Man City star Jack Grealish hits back at Graeme Souness comments

The cheap addition shows City will pounce on opportunities and steal themselves a deal every now and then, which could be useful to know ahead of next summer. There are a whole lot of quality players who are currently set to be available on free deals when their contracts expire in 2023, some of which should certainly pique the Blues' interest.

After City's excellent window you could be forgiven for wondering where City can even improve their squad but one area that may need some attention next year is midfield. Kalvin Phillips was brought in this summer to replace Fernandinho but has struggled with injuries so far and it remains to be seen if he will adapt to life at City. Bernardo Silva may well look to return to mainland Europe again after being unsuccessful the last two years and Ilkay Gundogan's contract is up in 2023 as well, with a