Gill expects City to make market swoop

Manchester United chief executive David Gill expects cash-rich neighbours Manchester City to “make some moves” as the recession begins to bite.

Backed by the vast wealth of the Abu Dhabi-backed consortium now in charge, the Eastlands outfit smashed the British transfer record to land Robinho on transfer deadline day.

Yet the results since Robinho’s arrival have been mixed. Last night’s defeat at Middlesbrough leaves the Blues anchored in mid-table, with the prospect of a place in next season’s Champions League looking highly unlikely.

However, Gill does not believe the Blues will be dismissed so easily. And, as other clubs tighten their belts, he expects to see City’s owners flex their financial muscle in the transfer market.

“Clearly, going into a recession, it would be naive to think they won’t make some moves and have some sort of impact,” said Gill.

“We will have to wait and see with Manchester City because whilst they clearly have a lot of money they have also pulled back from the rhetoric of the first guy who said they were going to buy this or that player for a lot of money.”

Gill was referring to Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim, who suggested City would be willing to pay £135m for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Al Fahim has since been silenced as the Blues adopt a more reasoned and pragmatic stance.

Gill accepts United’s neighbours cannot easily be dismissed, although he is happy to play on the rich traditions and success of his own club.

“We have to sell Manchester United; our history and heritage, our fantastic stadium and all the other assets we have,” he said.

“It doesn’t just boil down to money. Clearly it is important. But it is how you spend the money, how you invest with it, what you do with it. Having those budgets and parameters.”

It does mean that while City have the wealth to buy who they want, United must do detailed homework in an effort to keep errors to a minimum.

“We can’t go into a deal on the basis we sign someone for £20m but if it doesn’t work out you can sell him a couple of years later for £5million,” he said.

“We have had some unsuccessful players but we work on the principle that we cannot afford to make a mistake.

“Every player is looked at very closely and goes through a lot of scrutiny before we write the cheque.”