Gareth Barry has completed his £12 million move to Man City

So we come to the end of another football season (thats soccer to any Aussies reading this), and with no World Cup or European Championship, we must occupy ourselves with the merry-go-round that are transfer rumours. Being a Man City fan means that this short period (before the season starts up again in August) is now a little bit more interesting then it used to be. I still remember the days of rumours circulating around City of the arrival of Darius Vassell for a mere £1.2 million. The sad thing now, is that as City have more money then C. Montgomery Burns, rumours linking us with literally any player in the world is just not that exciting anymore.

£140 million for Messi? Sure, why not.

What interests me more, is speculating on which players City will actually manage to sign. Sure, we can afford to spend any amount on any player, but the fact of the matter is, none of them will want to come while City are not yet in Europe. Instead, we must concentrate on getting the players that can get us there, and the signing of Gareth Barry this week is an indication that that is exactly what Mark Hughes and the City board are planning. Barry is just the sort of experienced Premiership player we need, and will be a great addition to the City midfield. Barry also possesses a large amount of versatility (having played left back and centre back before), which is always a bonus when you have to change tactic mid game.

So who’s next?

City have definite weak spots. We are in dire need of a tall, strong out-and-out striker. An Alan Shearer type. A 30 goals a season player. We’ve got the attacking talent to provide him with decent opportunities, we just need someone to finish them off. We are also pretty light in defence. Both Richard Dunne, and Micah Richards endured poor seasons, and although both should still be an integral part of the next campaign, we could do with some help in that area, so a centre back and probably a right back are the order of the day.

Hughes has been pretty public in his pursuit of Rogue Santa Cruz since he started at Man City, and he could fit the striker mould quite well. I think the ideal candidate would be Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Inter Milan, but given Inter’s recent success, it is unlikely he will want to move, particularly to City. Other players that fit the mould are the likes of Drogba or Adebayor, and City have been linked to Champions League winner Samuel Eto’o recently. I think the ideal candidate however, is Miroslav Klose. He offers the perfect blend of attributes you look for in a traditional centre forward, and has the potential to score a bucket load with the likes of Ireland, Robinho, Elano and Petrov providing the ammunition.

At the back, the rumours currently in circulation involve Joleon Lescott. The Everton defender is certainly of proven premiership quality, but I think we desperately need someone with international experience as well. The likes of someone like Nesta would be ideal but also a little unrealistic (but it’s hard not to think like that when you have more money then sense). So perhaps Lescott would be the best bet, or someone like Matthew Upson. In at right back, the ideal candidate would be a young, nippy player, along the lines of a right footed Ashley Cole. Football Manager players will no doubt have heard of Rafinha at Schalke 04, who would be pretty good, but again, playing safe and “proven-premiership”, someone like Glen Johnson might be a better bet.

Whatever happens, I’m sure City will be linked with everyone and anything this summer, and for us fans, it will be a matter of shifting through the “dross” before we can find a transfer rumour that we can actually get excited about.

Still, I am thankful for two things. Firstly, it’s nice that City’s star signing this summer won’t be a free transfer from a recently relegated Premiership team, and secondly, I don’t support Bolton.