Man City braced for transfer market change with chaos ahead

There is an impatience among some Blues at the state of City's squad as they prepare for life after Pep Guardiola. A club that likes to do its business early has splashed out a club record £116m on midfielder Elliot Anderson, but that is the only incoming or outgoing that affects the first team squad.

That was expected because of the World Cup that has been going on for the best part of two months, including warm-up camps ahead of the tournament. It is far more difficult to get business done when so many players are with their national teams trying to focus on one of the biggest opportunities in their career, with club football forced to take a backseat.

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To get it, it's a simple one-two punch.

That does not mean that sporting director Viana has not been busy in this time, but there is an expectation that business will get significantly quicker from Monday. A slow start to the summer will have a chaotic end as clubs rush to make up for lost time and get their squads ready in time for the beginning of the season, and City will be caught up in that with so much business to do in and out.

There should also be movement on contracts, with Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden close to finalising new deals that will commit their long-term futures to the club. Rodri is the other big one, with less than 12 months left on his current deal and the midfielder promising development after the World Cup finishes.

Add in a new manager in Enzo Maresca and a pre-season tour to Asia where football preparations will be difficult with a squad missing several key players and conditions not making it easy to train. It is going to be strange enough for fans to see somebody other than Guardiola sat in a press conference or stood in the dugout, and Maresca will have to accept that there will be many comparing his every move to the man he has succeeded.

Much of the summer has been a waiting game, for Maresca to be appointed and then for the Anderson deal to be concluded. City can now expect developments to come fast and furiously as players and clubs find time is running out for them to set themselves up for the season.

How City handle the next six weeks will go a long way to deciding their fate in the nine months that follows.