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Raheem Sterling to Manchester City: Uefa lift FFP restrictions to leave City primed for £100m moves for Paul Pogba and Liverpool midfielder

City are also considering bids for Fabian Delph and Kevin De Bruyne but Uefa will keep a close eye on their spending

Jack de Menezes

Saturday 04 July 2015 12:10 BST

Fabian Delph, Paul Pogba and Raheem Sterling (Getty Images)

Uefa's decision to ease the Financial Fair Play restrictions on Manchester City could see the club splash out more than £100m this summer on the likes of Raheem Sterling, Paul Pogba and Fabian Delph.

Uefa fined City £49m and restricted their Champions League squad to just 21 players last season after they were seen to have overspent in the transfer market, but having met the European governing body’s financial targets, those punishments have now been lifted.

City have already seen two bids for Liverpool midfielder Sterling rejected – the second of which came to potentially record-breaking £40m – and it’s expected that the club will make a third and final bid close to the £50m that the Reds are demanding, which would be the most any club has ever paid for an English player.

The potential biggest transfers of the summer

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1/9The potential biggest transfers of the summer

The potential biggest transfers of the summer

Theo Walcott

There is real uncertainty around the future of Theo Walcott with prolonged contract talks looking likely. Arsene Wenger told the press that the winger was a tough customer to negotiate with and when the player tweeted in March that talks were yet to begin (something that contradicted the club) it signalled what could be the beginning of the end of Walcott's Arsenal career. The England international will have a year to run on his contract this summer and if no new deal can be found he will probably be sold. Liverpool have emerged as the leading contenders for his signature, whilst Chelsea are also rumoured to be keeping tabs on the situation aware that there could be a bargain to be had due to his dwindling contract.

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The potential biggest transfers of the summer

Raheem Sterling

Another England international seemingly destined to change his environment is Raheem Sterling. Liverpool are ready to pay the 20-year-old huge wages but it seems the Jamaican born player has said money is not the problem. It seems he wants to be winning trophies and playing in the Champions League - something that is far from guaranteed at Anfield. Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea are all monitoring the situation whilst moving abroad could be an option, with both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid linked. If Liverpool are unable to reach a compromise over a new deal, it's thought they'd rather sell this summer than give the player the initiative by letting him run his contract down to just one year to go in 2016.

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The potential biggest transfers of the summer

Paul Pogba

Having left Manchester United for Juventus in 2012, France international Pogba has gone on to become arguably the best young player in Europe and now United want him back. But they're not the only ones interested in the 22-year-old. His contract in Turin runs until the summer of 2019 which means any move would be among most expensive in history, but that's not stopped the liked of Real Madrid, Manchester City, PSG, Arsenal and Chelsea being linked. Juventus have said if the player wants to go, he can, but they're confident he will remain.

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The potential biggest transfers of the summer

Marco Reus

Speculation has surrounded the pacey Germany international for the past few windows but when he signed a new contract at Borussia Dortmund earlier this year, it looked to be the end of it. But with Jurgen Klopp's side struggling this season and European football out of the question next term, rumours have begun to resurface. With Theo Walcott possibly leaving Arsenal, the Gunners have reportedly made the 25-year-old their No 1 target to replace him. If it becomes apparent Dortmund are ready to do business, many other clubs will be making their interest known.

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The potential biggest transfers of the summer

Gareth Bale

Bale wants to stay at Real Madrid, but his second season at the Bernabeu hasn't been easy. The former Spurs player has been picked out as the chief culprit for all the club's problems at the start of 2015, with his selfish style of play and habit of going missing being picked on for criticism. The mood in Madrid changes like a flag in the wind according to his team-mate Toni Kroos and it's quite possible he'll be the darling of the Spanish capital again, but Real Madrid aren't afraid to let big name players depart and would be able to command a huge fee for Bale to help balance the books. Manchester United will lead the pursuit.

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The potential biggest transfers of the summer

Petr Cech

Despite a near faultless 10 years between the sticks at Stamford Bridge, in his eleventh season as a Chelsea player he found himself demoted behind the prodigious talent that is Thibaut Courtois. The Czech international has proved willing to put up with the situation this season but has already said he won't stand for sitting on the bench next term. Arsenal are among the clubs most regularly linked, however Chelsea would be reluctant to let the keeper, who will be 33 in the summer, leave for a rival. Roma, Napoli and Real Madrid have been mentioned as alternative destinations.

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The potential biggest transfers of the summer

Angel Di Maria

He might have only arrived at Old Trafford last summer and have cost a British record £59.7m, but Angel Di Maria has been woeful in his debut season. With few of his passes finding their desired target it's thought Louis van Gaal could cut his losses and use whatever fee can be commanded to reinvest in players who fit more seamlessly into the Dutchman's system. Paris St Germain would be the first in line of a long queue keen to sign the Argentina international.

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The potential biggest transfers of the summer

David De Gea

Real Madrid could bid for David De Gea in the next week in the hope of completing a transfer before they embark on their pre-season tour of Australia, with Manchester United already sounding out possible replacements.

Getty Images

The potential biggest transfers of the summer

Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos is wanted by Manchester United, who have already seen one bid rejected by Real Madrid. However, with the Spaniard believed to be keen on a move this summer, United appear to be the favourites to sign the World Cup winner.

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But their hopes of signing Paul Pogba have been given a boost now that they can compete with Barcelona for the Juventus midfielder. Pogba’s performances for Juventus since he arrived from Manchester United in 2012 have led to a number of clubs eyeing him up for a transfer, and despite the Italian league champions determined not to sell, the club have confirmed that they will be powerless to prevent him leaving should the right offer be made.

City are now free to move for their main transfer targets, including Paul Pogba (AFP/Getty)

City are also confident that they can tie-up a move for former Chelsea midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who will meet with Wolfsburg on Monday to discuss his future. The Bundesliga club hope to tie him down to a new contract having seen him score 16 goals and make an incredible 29 assists last season, but De Bruyne could look to secure a move back to the Premier League in order to show Chelsea what they missed out on.

With the spending set to increase significantly at the Etihad, the Telegraph are reporting that City are planning on an £8m bid for Aston Villa’s Delph, whose performances last season led to him breaking into the England squad. Delph signed a new deal with Villa in January this year, but City could look to try and persuade him to join by offering wages up to £100,000-a-week.

City could make an £8m move for Delph (Getty Images)

However, the spending will still have to within Uefa’s regulations, and a statement released by them marked out that the easing of the FFP sanctions is conditional to “strict monitoring” of their financial spending.

“The lifting of restrictions is subject to ongoing additional controls and audits," read a Uefa statement. “The club remains under strict monitoring and has still to meet break-even targets and is therefore subject to some limitations in 2016."

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