Manchester City are waiting to find out how they will be punished for 114 major Premier League rule breaches and have lodged their appeal in the aftermath of the long-awaited verdict.
The extent of the potential punishment is unknown but Man City must prepare for every eventuality regardless of the stack of ‘irrefutable’ evidence they have at their disposal but elected not to introduce during the lengthy investigation.
That includes the best case scenario as well as the worst. With a January transfer window fast approaching, it’s business as usual for City’s scouts. According to reports in Portugal, repeat visits to Porto could point to some potential targets.
Manchester City scouts returned to Porto on Tuesday
The possible sanctions facing Man City are significant. Expulsion from the Premier League is on the table along with stripped titles won under Pep Guardiola, points deductions, limits on registering players and even an enforced change of ownership under the powers of the independent football regulator.
A transfer ban of some description is perhaps among the more likely punishments – it has been suggested in some quarters that the club’s recent transfer strategy could serve as futureproofing for that – but recruitment will remain a focus until such time as a ban is in place.
According to A Bola via Sport Witness, members of City’s scouting team were in attendance for Porto’s Champions League loss to PSV at the Estadio do Dragao on Tuesday evening.
Sport Witness reports that City have had scouts at Porto matches twice in a month, both times since the club’s own visit to Portugal in the Champions League in September.
The player suggested is Victor Froholdt, who ‘impressed’ when he was watched against Benfica last time City officials were in town. “Unfortunately, the 20-year-old Danish midfielder wasn’t so good on Tuesday as Porto lost 1-0 to PSV,” says Sport Witness.
It was a bad night for Porto and none of their players caught the eye, though 18-year-old Oskar Pietuszewski was given a start on the left and Spanish striker Samu Aghehowa, 22, has long been a player of note for Premier League scouts.
Esmir Bajraktarevic, 21, of PSV produced a more notable performance and is offered up as another possible target of City’s interest. Yarek Gasiorowski, also 21, put in a commanding performance at centre-back.
Rumours are rife but it has been reported that a ‘multi-year transfer ban’ is one of the sanctions under discussion.
That would have a big future impact on City but Guardiola’s former player, Philipp Lahm, has highlighted the shadow cast on the club’s past achievements by the independent commission ruling.
“From the outside, City fundamentally did not do much differently from the other 10 or so top European clubs,” Lahm wrote in his column for The Guardian. “But what are achievements on the pitch worth if they are accompanied by rule-breaking?”
