Next month could decide Man City title chances after four transfer gambles

Pep Guardiola has been calm over Manchester City's transfer business this summer, even if he has hinted that the departures of three key players weren't planned.

Fernandinho's exit was expected, but the transfers of Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Aleks Zinchenko were not — especially not all in the same window. Even with the squad-strengthening signings of Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez and Kalvin Phillips, City aren't necessarily a stronger squad with less than a month to go until the transfer deadline.

And while the decision not to pay £60m for Marc Cucurella seems justified given the eventual fee that Chelsea forked out, walking away from that deal certainly represents a risk with just one senior option at both right-back and left-back. The forwards who have left may have been replaced, but City need to quickly find a new left-back after allowing Zinchenko to leave.

ALSO READ: Man City have four options to replace Bernardo Silva

Guardiola has said a few times this summer that City were sorry to see Zinchenko, Sterling and Jesus leave, and he suggested on Friday that he would have been more than happy for them to stay. It's that long-held stance, though, that unhappy players may be allowed to go, that has seen City get over £120m in those sales, effectively paying for Haaland, Alvarez and Phillips.

The Blues have the money for a new left-back, too, with academy sales putting them well in the black on net spend this year. Now is the time to see whether there are any suitable options to buy again before the September 1 deadline.

On the one hand, City will stick to their guns and only buy players who will fit the team, not panicking and buying a left-back just to buy a left-back. When they needed a new centre-back in