Manchester City Transfer Rumors: 5 Questions Pellegrini Must Answer

Having been installed as Manchester City manager earlier this week, a series of questions and expectations now bombard Manuel Pellegrini, the latest man to take up one of the hottest seats in European football.

With the Premier League title snatched away from them in dominant fashion last season, the Chilean has a certain standard to live up to at the Etihad Stadium, a standard that's bound to rely slightly on his first transfer window with the club.

Pellegrini's transfer budget at Malaga pales in comparison to the one he'll be working with in his new position, but that doesn't necessarily make the pressure on his shoulders that much easier to cope with.

Over the next few months, answering the following queries will play just a small role in the 59-year-old's success.

Is Fernandinho Worth His £30 Million Outlay?

According to BBC Sport, the deal to bring Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder, Fernandinho, to the Etihad Stadium would cost the English giants a reported figure of around £30 million. In fact, some have even suggested the figure may rise as high as £34 million.

Such a fee puts the Brazilian on a par with some of the most expensive players ever to come to the Premier League.

To this day, the five highest fees ever paid by Premier League clubs for a player belong to Fernando Torres (Chelsea, £50m), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City, £38m), Andy Carroll (Liverpool, £35m), Robinho (Manchester City, £32m) and Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea, £30.8m).

Quickly, you'll notice that all five of those players have one thing in common; they're all strikers and were in very prolific form at the moment of their transfer.

Not to insinuate that midfielders have no place being considered as valuable as their more attacking teammates, but Fernandinho has scored 15 times across all competitions in his last three seasons in Ukraine, hardly a goldmine of goals.

What's more, the South American is 28 years old and is primarily a box-to-box midfielder, holding little in terms of sell-on value.

It will be up to Pellegrini—renowned for being tactically proficient—to get the best out of his Manchester City's new signing, and although he may not have been in charge when the deal was confirmed, Fernandinho's success is without a doubt his responsibility.

Will Isco Reunite With His Former Málaga Boss?

Fresh off the back of the Spanish Under-21 side's successful European Championship, the transfer saga surrounding Malaga's Isco will assuredly find a new sense of life.

The Guardian have quoted the player himself as saying that two sides have bid for his services, one of which just happens to have been recently taken over by his old mentor:

"

Yes, there are offers on the table from both clubs. Those are the two clubs that have shown the most interest. I hope to decide soon because I still have a contract with Málaga. I know that Manchester City and Real Madrid are both huge clubs. I hope that whatever I choose will be the best for me and for Málaga.

"

It's no secret that Pellegrini has a special bond with the youngster, bring him to La Rosaleda and giving the 21-year-old his first, real experience of first-team football in La Liga, far more than he ever received at Valencia.

Although Real Madrid will have its temptations, the allure of linking back up with a manger like Pellegrini, not to mention some better chances of a starting spot, may prove to be in Manchester City's favour.

Does Carlos Tevez Have an Etihad Future?

Can anyone remember a time when Carlos Tevez's future wasn't in the slightest shade of doubt? 

Season after season, the Argentine's long-term existence in England comes under increasing scrutiny, with this summer's transfer period no different, it seems.

Now, with just a year remaining on his Manchester City contract, Tevez again finds himself the subject of speculation and it seems Italy is where the Mirror alleges the striker could end up.

Rather than allow their scoring asset to leave as a free transfer next year, it's highly plausible to think that City would cash in on Tevez now.

However, a great deal of any, shall we say, undesirable moments, are supposedly down to an antagonistic relationship the South American sometimes shared with former club manager Roberto Mancini.

Now with Pellegrini in control of squad selection, Tevez may yet see another season playing amongst England's elite and, dare one even think it, sign a contract extension at Manchester City.

Impossible though it may seem to some, stranger things have happened.

Will Jesus Navas Survive on English Shores?

Considering pure talent alone and the genuine potential the player holds to excite, Jesus Navas looks to be a bargain pickup for Manchester City at just £14.9 million.

Even though BBC Sport say that figure could rise by another £1 million based on performances, the Spaniard's arrival will still hold great value for any Citizen fan.

However, it could come unravelling all too soon for both club and player.

It's no secret that Navas has suffered from horrific bouts of homesickness in the past. For the past 13 years, the winger has plied his trade in Seville, a little less than 19 miles from his birthplace of Los Palacios.

Recent years have even seen the stigma get to the point where Navas has been forced out of training camps and was even prevented from featuring at Euro 2008 thanks to the anxiety that came as a result of the distance between him and his family.

However, as the Telegraph now suggests, Navas says he has conquered any such fears and will brave the bitter colds of England to prove any doubters wrong.

As with Fernandinho, it's Pellegrini's all-encompassing job as manager to keep his players and, by extension, his fans, happy.

Navas' claims will be put to the test in the coming months and hopefully the seasons to come, but there'll always be an air of doubt surrounding his ability to last so far from home.

Who’s the Next Man to Lead the Citizens’ Line?

2012 was the first year in five seasons that Manchester City had failed to recruit a big-name striker, mainly due to the fact that the forwards recruited in previous campaigns had begun to pile up at the club.

In the 2011-12 term, Sergio Aguero came to the Etihad Stadium. The season before that, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli were on the recruitment line and so on and so forth with strikers such as Tevez, Robinho, Jo, Roque Santa Cruz and Craig Bellamy among the others splurged on in recent years.

As aforementioned, Carlos Tevez's future with Manchester City is already on shaky ground and with no replacement brought in since Balotelli's January sale to AC Milan, it could be time to replenish the ranks.

Earlier this year, the Daily Mail suggested that a £50 million double swoop could be completed for the signatures of Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain and Borussia Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski.

Alternative targets could be needed too, as Napoli's Edinson Cavani (pictured) was recently reported by the Telegraph as saying the Real Madrid would be his preferred summer destination.

Now in control of Manchester City's transfer direction, Pellegrini will have a major say in which European striker, if any, the club devote their resources to this summer.