Friday 25 August 2017 08:47, UK
As Bournemouth prepare to host Manchester City on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, we take a look at the stark contrast in transfer money spent by the Premier League sides…
With Pep Guardiola aiming to better the third-place finish his side managed during his first season at the helm, Manchester City have spent more money during this summer's transfer window than Bournemouth have in their 118-year history.
Guardiola last month defended the club's Premier League record £200m expenditure, claiming his £120m outlay on full-backs was necessary in the current transfer market.
City spent £50m on right-back Kyle Walker and £49.2m on left-back Benjamin Mendy. In contrast Bournemouth - City's opponents this weekend - completed a club-record signing of former Chelsea defender Nathan Ake for £20m.
That's less than half the amount of money City paid for their own club-record signing, Kevin De Bruyne, in 2015.
It's a reflection of the huge gulf between the sides when it comes to transfer spending. In total, City's top five most expensive signings cost £231m, whereas Bournemouth's five most expensive players amount to just £63m in transfer fees.
But City's big spending doesn't end with those top five players. A big-money Manchester City signing who doesn't even make it into the top five is £34.7m Ederson, who became the world's most expensive goalkeeper this summer. He has replaced Claudio Bravo - who arrived from Barcelona for £17.1m last year - as City's No 1.
In comparison, Bournemouth's No 1 Asmir Begovic joined the Cherries for less than a third of the price of Ederson, having kept 50 clean sheets from 192 league appearances since making his Premier League debut with Portsmouth in 2009.
With the striking disparities between the teams in mind, the hosts will be considered underdogs when they meet Guardiola's men.
But, if Leicester's 2015/16 Premier League glory taught us anything, it's that the cost of a squad does not always guarantee success.
