Grading Manchester City's Transfer Window

After the disappointment of last summer’s transfer window, Manchester City fans can be very happy with the business their club have done this time around. As other teams were left desperately chasing transfers on the last day of the window, they sat back and relaxed, content with the deals they had completed weeks earlier. City’s transfer strategy was a confident one.

They have done some outstanding business, addressing the areas that caused them the most problems last season and, as a result, they should be far better equipped to mount a title challenge this time around.

Where last season they lacked width and pace, this season they have Jesus Navas, an old fashioned winger with a blistering turn of speed. He will be crucial for City this season, particularly when they take on the big clubs away from home and play on the break with his pace sure to stretch teams and give City a constant outlet in wide areas. 

He joined from Sevilla for a fee believed to be £17 million, according to a report by Sid Lowe in the Guardian. On the evidence of what we've seen so far he looks to be an excellent signing and gives City new options in terms of how they play.

Joining him shortly after was his Sevilla team-mate Alvaro Negredo, a powerful forward who scored 26 goals in La Liga last season. He cost City a reported £20.6 million, according to the Mail.

He will bring a new dynamic to the City attack. Having sometimes seemed too intent on scoring the perfect goal, Negredo is a battering ram of a forward who likes to lurk on the shoulder of the last defender and pop in the 18-yard box and score simple tap ins.

His two goals already this season show what he can do. He is a player who will miss chances, but given the right service, there's no reason he can't score 20 goals for City in his first year at the club.

Fernandinho, the club's most expensive summer signing at £30 million, is another player who addresses one of City's most obvious problems: tempo. Last season, they were often too lethargic, lacking urgency with and without the ball. New manager Manuel Pellegrini wants to implement a high-tempo pressing game that sees City win possession high up the pitch (demonstrated perfectly in City's 4-0 opening day win over Newcastle) and the Brazilian will be key to that approach.

His fitness levels and desire to win the ball are impressive, and he could prove to be a very handy acquisition once he has fully adapted to the rigours of the Premier League.

Arguably their most exciting capture was Stevan Jovetic, the 23-year-old forward signed from Fiorentina for £22 million (via the BBC). Jovetic is a purist's dream: Comfortable with both feet, he has great vision and a sharp footballing brain. He will bring additional skill to City's forward line and can operate as a striker or as one of the withdrawn forwards Pellegrini looks set to play.

He definitely has the quality to become a truly world-class player.

Those four deals were all completed before the end of July, meaning Pellegrini had the majority of his business tied up ahead of his side's preseason schedule. It was swift and decisive transfer action that made last summer's efforts under Brian Marwood's leadership seem amateurish and left many of City's rivals looking sluggish.

Martin Demichelis completed City’s spending when he arrived from Atletico Madrid for £4.2m (via the BBC). Signed as cover at centre-half where City were a little light, the Argentinian will give them depth and brings with him plenty of European experience from his time at Bayern Munich and Malaga. At 32, his best days are behind him, but with most City fans keen to see Matija Nastasic and Vincent Kompany continue their promising partnership, it makes sense to buy a player like Demichelis who is unlikely to disrupt their progress but provides experienced cover when needed.

City’s outgoings have also largely benefited them. By allowing a number of players who signed during the days when Mark Hughes was sanctioning huge contracts for players unworthy of such deals, City have shed a significant proportion of their wage bill.

The most notable departure was Carlos Tevez, who left for a deal thought to be worth an initial £7.6 million, according to this report in the Guardian. City will undoubtedly miss Tevez—he's a supremely talented and hardworking player—but with just 12 months left on his contract and little desire to renew his deal, the club had little option but to sell the forward. He was thought to be on around £250k per week at City, with his departure freeing up enough wage space to pay two new players.

Wayne Bridge, Roque Santa Cruz, Maicon and Kolo Toure also departed after their contracts expired, meaning City continued to remove deadwood and reduce their wage bill. 

Karim Rekik, a promising young centre-back, has joined PSV Eindhoven on loan for a season. PSV have a great tradition of giving young players a platform to play at the highest level and Rekik will surely benefit from the move. He is a player City expect to make the grade and this move is seen as a way of fast-tracking his progress into their first-team.

The disappointments were the departures of Gareth Barry and Denis Suarez.

Barry was allowed to leave on a season-long loan to Everton due to his first-team chances at City being restricted by the arrival of Fernandinho. Indeed, most City fans would rather have seen Javi Garcia leave rather than Barry, but with no takers for Garcia and Barry’s age taken into account, it was the Englishman shown the exit door.

With a World Cup in Brasil coming up this summer and the likelihood of him spending time on the bench at City, it's a good move for the midfielder. City fans, however, will be fearful that a player so central to their recent success may be missed. Everton have themselves a fine player.

Suarez was the club's most exciting academy prospect and has joined Barcelona on a four-year deal. It’s a deal which raises questions about the wisdom of having too many foreign academy players who often have allegiances which lie elsewhere. Certainly Suarez was never going to turn Barcelona down and City have lost a young playmaker who could easily have become a first-team player over the next year.

One area City may regret not improving is at left-back where Aleksandar Kolarov remains the only player challenging Gael Clichy for a place in the side. Kolarov has proven to be a flop at City because of his lack of defensive nous and in an ideal world they would have moved him on and replaced him.

Fabio Coentrao, the Real Madrid player, had agreed a loan deal to Manchester United (via the BBC) but the paperwork wasn't ratified and Real pulled out of the move. He would have been a good option for City had Kolarov moved elsewhere.

Compare City’s handling of the window with that of other club’s and becomes clear that their decisive, aggressive approach worked well. Manchester United, in particular, have had a difficult summer, often finding themselves in protracted negotiations which ultimately led to nothing other than embarrassment. They now find themselves with only one new potential first-team player despite fluttering their eyelashes at many more. 

City had a clear plan and it worked. They look far stronger this season than last.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here @TypicalCity