Manchester City's squad could be picked apart at knockdown prices next summer, with a former financial adviser to the club warning that Europe's biggest sides are circling.
Stefan Borson, who once advised City on their finances, told Football Insider that the club's expensively assembled squad is likely to be raided for a fraction of what it cost to build. And he believes the market simply won't be there to drive competitive bidding.
"I think the opportunities, probably, for all other clubs, are more going to be on the bigger players," Borson said.
His logic is stark. With so few clubs able to afford the kind of fees City have historically commanded, the usual auction dynamic collapses.
"And there just isn't going to be the necessary liquidity in the market to soak up many of the biggest players. There's just not that much money around."
Borson added: "There's only four or five teams that can buy a lot of these players. So ultimately the prices are going to fall. It's simple supply and demand."
The names in the frame are the ones you would expect. Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Marc Guehi and Gianluigi Donnarumma are all appreciated around Europe, and City would have no choice but to lower their price tags significantly if the vultures start circling.
Haaland is the most glaring case. Signed for £51.2million, a fee that already looks like one of the bargains of the century, any interested party could seal his signature for a fraction of that in a few months. Football Insider understands Arsenal and Real Madrid have already made contact with his representatives.
Guehi, meanwhile, could still end up at Liverpool, according to Mick Brown, who told Football Insider the defender remains a target having missed out on him previously.
It all stems from the cloud hanging over the club. City's owners have appealed against the Premier League's 114 charges, and while they continue to plead their innocence, rival fans are baying for relegation and multi-year transfer bans. The verdict, it is believed, was known before the club splashed out on Enzo Fernandez, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Elliot Anderson.
Manager Enzo Maresca has no intention of managing in the Championship again, according to Football Insider. Whether he gets that choice may not be entirely up to him.