The Price Is Wrong, Weeknights at Six with Roberto Mancini

Charles Klein

One of the more disconcerting themes of this transfer window in European football is the amount of money players are changing sides to earn, and the money those teams are spending to do it. It has become so bad that any player claiming that he always dreamed of playing for that club has be understood as utter trash.

And again, it's the usual suspects. Your Real Madrids, your Barcelonas and your Manchester Citys are out buying up the world's talent, one exorbitant fee at a time. Today I read a rumour that City are in for a 20 million pound bid for Didier Drogba. This is all according to the player's agent.

I am not really sure what adding Didier Drogba does to an already attack-heavy roster. City currently have nine forwards on their roster already, three of which cost City over 60 million pounds in transfer fees alone from last summer. City have already spent 77 million this summer on David Silva, Yaya Toure and Aleksandar Kolarov. Carlos Tevez, a new arrival at City, scored 23 goals last season and now will more than likely face competition for the starting job. It seems like he is destined to leave City for the same reasons he left United the summer before.

People usually levy plenty of criticism at me saying that United spends just as much or are just as guilty as the other teams you mentioned of inflating transfer fees. But I always tell them to take a good hard look at the math. What Manchester City have been doing for the past few years blows any money United have spent out of the water.

What City need to focus on is rebuilding their defense rather than sign another striker. I do not rate Joleon Lescott at all (waste of 17 million pounds) and Kolo Toure should not be your best central defender if you want to make a serious run in the Champions League (which is why I tip my cap to Wenger for selling him and signing Vermaelen). Kolarov is a decent signing but City need to sign another center back to truly compete. And that does not appear likely.

If I am Didier Drogba, I stay at Chelsea. Unless City agree to donate 500 billion pounds to the Ivory coast every year that he plays for them, he is better positioned to stay where he is at if he harbors any ambitions of winning trophies.

This year I say it becomes 35 years for the second rate club in Manchester.