First £100m goalkeeper! Man City or Chelsea tipped to make history as former Premier League shot-stopper makes record-shattering transfer prediction

Premier League heavyweights from Stamford Bridge already top that chart, having splashed out £71.6m ($84m) on Kepa Arrizabalaga in 2018. Little return was seen on that investment, with the Blues having worked through several more shot-stoppers before ending up on World Cup winner Emi Martinez.

City have also invested heavily in their last line of defence, with Brazilian custodian Ederson costing them £34.7m ($41m) in 2017. He won six league titles at the Etihad Stadium and the Champions League - meaning that he represented money well spent.

Liverpool star Alisson, at £67m ($79m), Manchester United flop Andre Onana, at £47.2m ($56m) and Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon - who cost £32.6m ($43m) way back in 2001 - complete the top five of costliest goalkeepers.

Will that bar be raised again at some point in the not too distant future, as a nine-figure sum changes hands? When that question was put to Hislop, the ex-Newcastle and West Ham keeper - who was speaking exclusively to GOAL courtesy of Betsson sports betting online - said: “Well, all biases aside, I guess you read that and say it's as important a position as it is.

“I've learned a long time ago that transfer fees make absolutely no sense. We now have midfielders going for £125m etc. Trying to justify that for strikers was difficult enough. But now we're seeing midfielders going for those kinds of prices. A few years ago now, Virgil van Dijk left Southampton for £75m.

“So I guess the natural progression is we'll pretty soon see a defender go for £100m and then probably not too long after that a goalkeeper. Again, it's difficult for me to imagine, but if you'd asked me five or 10 years ago, I could not imagine a midfielder going for £125m, £150m as we've seen or we will see very soon. I expect it will happen, I'm just not sure when and I'm not going to put a wager on that.”

While being reluctant to speculate on when a £100m goalkeeper could hit the market, Hislop concedes that big-spending sides in English football are best placed to start a new transfer trend.

Asked if City or Chelsea will be the ones to break through that recruitment ceiling, the former Trinidad & Tobago international added: “Of course, they're the only ones who are spending that big money.

“You've seen clubs spend big money for goalkeepers. I can still remember when Buffon joined Juventus, I think it was close to £35m at the time. That's a chunk of change in today's game. At the time, it was simply unheard of and everybody balked at it. By the time Buffon retired from Juventus, nobody questioned the price tag.

“Similarly, if somebody young enough, talented enough comes along, I think somebody may very well spend that money. You had the likes of David De Gea and Thibaut Courtois breaking into big football clubs while still teenagers. If that goalkeeper pops up today, a goalkeeper of those talents as teenagers, a big club may be willing to top the £100m mark for it. That goalkeeper will then stay there for 10 or 12 years and it will look like money well spent.

“You can see it happening, you can put together the scenario, but again, goalkeepers of that quality at that age don't come along very often.”

Chelsea have another hot goalkeeping prospect on their books in the form of Belgium U21 international Mike Penders. If he develops as planned, then there may be no need to splash cash on another long-term No.1.

At City, their future business may depend on the outcome of a long-running Financial Fair Play (FFP) case that has seen them stung with 114 charges. Appeals are being lodged, but severe sanctions have also been mooted and it remains to be seen what the bigger picture looks like for all concerned at the Etihad Stadium.