Rivals, beware: Man City's Erling Haaland transfer pursuit marks new phase in quest for supremacy

Manchester City are closing in on the biggest transfer of the summer, with a deal for Erlin Haaland edging closer. And if the Blues see the deal through, as seems increasingly likely, it will mark a new phase in the Blues’ rise to power.

City have earned a reputation as the planet’s big spenders when it comes to bringing in players after shelling out around £1.3billion in fees over the last decade, marginally more than Chelsea and Manchester United. But the popular argument, often subsiding into criticism, is that City have simply gone out and bought the best players, and that is what has fuelled their unprecedented success.

It cannot be denied that the Blues have paid big money to bring in top talents. But they have never delved into the top bracket of the market, and that is why the only City signing that features in the top 30 most expensive transfers in football history is the £100million splashed out on Jack Grealish last summer.

They have not figured when the huge names - superstars like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Eden Hazard - were up for grabs. They did move for Lionel Messi, but only when there was a clear possibility of landing him for free, and were not in the mix when Neymar, Mbappe, Joao Felix and Antoine Griezmann were on the move.

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Even Grealish, despite the fee, was not a globally recognised star - he was arguably still behind his new City colleagues Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling in the England pecking order when he joined the Blues. What City have done brilliantly is do business in the second bracket - they are not browsing the shelves at Harrod’s, but neither are they Poundshop customers.

They have specialised in picking out highly promising young