WHAT A SIGNING….

After a slow start to the transfer window, Manchester City are racking up the deals to boost their budget – with three academy sales agreed in the last week.

Alexander Robertson has joined Cardiff in a deal worth £1m while Micah Hamilton left for Middlesbrough for up to £5m. Those deals, plus the record sale of Julian Alvarez for an initial £64m, took City’s sales in the last five years to over £500m, with another £17m possible in add-ons from the Alvarez deal.

Of that £500m, City have agreed more than £150m of sales this summer, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Liam Delap, Tommy Doyle and Sergio Gomez leaving for a combined £53m with Alvarez and possible add-ons further boosting the coffers. Add the £25m City will receive next summer for Yan Couto, on loan at Borussia Dortmund with an obligation to buy, and City’s incomings will continue steadily, rising to well over £150m in deals secured or agreed this summer – of which at least £145m is guaranteed.

And there will also be a further small boost with a deal agreed with Aston Villa for under-21 midfielder Kane Taylor who is set to swap the Etihad for Villa Park in a permanent move worth up to £750,000. City will also get 25 per cent of any deal if Taylor leaves Villa in the future.