MANCHESTER CITY have made one significant addition this summer.

Pep Guardiola wanted a long-term successor to 34-year-old Fernandinho at the base of his midfield, so he bagged Rodri from Atletico Madrid for £62.6million.

That was the Spaniard’s buyout clause set by the La Liga side.

There were no bids weighed up or rejected, City knew what the price was to get their man and they simply paid it with no fuss.

The efficiency in how City conduct their transfer business must be the envy of their rivals down the road at Old Trafford.

City to bag Maguire and trump United? 

City are still interested in Leicester City’s Harry Maguire and have a good idea of what the Foxes want for him, we all know what they want for him, £80million.

So, if you are cash rich like City and Manchester United, what is the real difference between a firm valuation and a buyout clause?

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made it clear to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward he wants Maguire, but the bids have been way short of the Foxes valuation.

If Woodward would have just got the deal done, Maguire would have been on tour spending valuable time with his new team mates ahead of the new season. United are still in pole position and Maguire’s odds of joining Manchester United are 1/7, City are 4/1.

If United can bid £70m, then surely they can cobble together another £10m.

Or would things have been easier if Maguire had a set buyout clause?

Woodward’s Herrera cock-up

Maybe not, Woodward got himself into an almighty mess trying to land Ander Herrera in 2013 from Atletico Bilbao.

Herrera had a buyout clause of £30.4m

But Woodward, a few months into his role at United failed to understand the Spanish system and had to wait a year to get the deal done.

Simply paying what Leicester want would not be a sign of poor negotiating skills from the United top brass.

Bagging the England defender could be seen as a statement of intent and show the world Woodward as a football chief who is finally starting to get big deals done efficiently.