Approaching the second week of August and City have only signed one player, Elliot Anderson, who is likely to be in the first XI this season.
The fee paid to Nottingham Forest for the England international is a club record £116m, with the 23-year-old seemingly a replacement for Bernardo Silva, who departed at the end of his contract and joined Real Madrid.
Teenage winger Jeremy Monga may be given playing time in the academy after joining from Leicester, while goalkeeper Pierce Charles and winger Mathys Detourbet both immediately went out on loan after joining.
New boss Enzo Maresca said on Tuesday that director of football Hugo Viana and chief executive Ferran Soriano had both travelled to South Korea, where the team are currently spending pre-season, and the Italian admitted “we need to something” in regards to transfers.
Though there is an acknowledgement that they have not been as active as they would have liked, senior City sources say they are “relaxed” about the situation and have full “trust” in their transfer strategy.
It has been pointed out that Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi were long-term targets and were signed in January, deals that were brought forward from this summer and both have made a positive impact.
The squad is seen to be “young” and “exciting”, one which claimed both domestic cups last season, with 20-year-old Brazilian Vitor Reis returning after a season-long loan at Girona and expected to be past of the first-team.
In terms of outgoings, Rodri is yet to sign a new contract and is now attracting attention from both Real Madrid and Barcelona, while fellow midfielder Tijjani Reijnders is likely to leave and has interest from Nottingham Forest.
Meanwhile, BBC Sport said last month winger Savinho is open to leaving the club with Tottenham exploring a move, yet nothing has materialised.
If there are departures from the club, the idea – as it stands – is to bring in a replacement.
There is interest in Chelsea’s Pedro Neto, while talks are ongoing for Lille’s Moroccan midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi and Marseille goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.
Despite the lack of movement, there remains an air of calmness around the hierarchy at the Etihad.
