"What are they smoking?!" said Liverpool chief John Henry when he learned of Arsenal's derisory £40 million ($52m) plus £1 bid for Luis Suarez in 2013. But when analysing Manchester City's transfer business this summer, a more apt question would be: "What are they having for breakfast?"
City have managed to earn up to £82m ($107m) by selling Julian Alvarez and have managed to get Ilkay Gundogan back, just one year after he left for Barcelona. Alvarez was a useful and prolific forward who filled in admirably for Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, but he was essentially a squad player who was on the fringes of the team at the business end of last season and in the season when City won the treble the year before.
Gundogan, however, was a key part of the treble-winning side, captaining the team when they hoisted all three trophies and scoring both goals in the FA Cup final. And just one year after City were unable to agree to a new contract for the midfielder, they have secured his return free of charge.
City, then, are reassembling the team that conquered all, bringing back Gundogan while keeping hold of other long-serving players such as Ederson, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne. But there is just one problem with bringing Gundogan back: it threatens to delay a much-needed midfield rebuild.