Manchester City in the summer are like a rich man walking through a Moroccan bazaar.
Everyone wants a piece of their money, everyone is trying to pull a fast one, and they have to be single-minded and hard-faced as they set out to buy only what they need.
The hawkers and hagglers are now out in force, with agents casually tossing City's name into the air whenever they have a player for sale, whether he be a trinket or a luxury item.
And clubs throughout Europe - and beyond - are also at it, using City's wealthy reputation to drive up the price of their own merchandise.
For the fans, it is a bewildering time, with dozens upon dozens of names being linked with their club, often on the flimsiest of evidence.
For the media, it is a taxing time, trying to sift through the masses of claims and denials, talking to agents and clubs to sort the feasible from the false.
For the clubs themselves it is a fast-moving, fluid situation, changing from hour to hour, as clubs jockey for position, strike deals and place fresh irons in the fire as others start to cool.
With all that in mind, M.E.N. Sport decided to look at the higher-profile deals with which City have been linked, and offer fans a ready guide to the market as it stands, complete with our own rating of the likelihood of a deal being done.
Jerome Boateng
Left back, left central defender, Hamburg and Germany. Price £11m.
The only deal which has been openly confirmed as a distinct possibility, by City boss Roberto Mancini, and by the player himself.
The deal has been in the pipeline for weeks, with Boateng agreeing a three-year deal worth £85,000 a week, and Hamburg accepting the City offer.
The paperwork cannot be completed until July 1, when his registration can be transferred.
The Blues had hoped to announce the deal, but that has been held up - even though Boateng has thrown a farewell party for his teammates - and no-one can be certain until the ink is dry.
Probability - 9/10
David Luiz
Right back, right central defender, Benfica and Brazil under-20. Price £24m.
Mancini was hugely impressed with the tall, athletic, versatile defender when he starred for Benfica in a Europa Cup tie at Anfield.
He is being touted as one of the best young defenders in the world, and Mancini has singled out the left back position as a real weak spot in his City side.
The problems are that Real Madrid are also interested, and Luiz has a prohibitive buy-out clause in his contract of £43million.
Luiz is also partly-owned by a group of shareholders in the Benfica Stars Fund, who will have to decide whether to cash in on the player now or wait for his stock to rise.
Probability 5/10
James Milner
Centre, right, left midfield, full back, Aston Villa and England. Price £30m.
Set to be the biggest transfer saga of the summer as Villa owner, Randy Lerner, seeks to drive up the price and manager Martin O'Neill digs his heels in to keep a player who is central to his plans.
The Blues have confirmed their interest with a bid worth £25m, with an initial outlay of £20m, a bid which was firmly rejected by the Birmingham club.
Now the Blues are mulling over a more complex player-plus-cash deal, with Nedum Onuoha and Stevie Ireland possibly coming in to the equation.
Milner has offered sufficient encouragement, stating that he does not know where his future lies, but Chelsea could yet muscle in, and offer the ambitious player Champions League football as well.
Probability 7/10
Steven Gerrard
Centre midfield, Liverpool and England. Price £35m.
The iconic signing which City hope will turn them from a good side into a great one, but the difference between finishing fourth and fifth could make all the difference.
Gerrard's Anfield career appears to have run its course, but he is likely to avoid the wrath of the Kopites who adore him, by moving abroad rather than join a Premier League rival.
City are trying to sell him a vision of a bold new future, of a side which will be capable of mounting a real challenge to the Chelsea-United axis, rather than sticking with a fading power.
But Real Madrid are set to make him their prime target, and that could be a challenge which Gerrard finds hard to resist.
Probability 5/10
Mikel Arteta
Centre midfield, Everton and Spain under-21. Price £28m.
After last summer's bitter wrangle over defender Joleon Lescott, the last thing City and Everton want is another protracted row over Arteta.
But business is business, and the Spaniard would fit the bill for the creative midfielder which City crave.
Arsenal also have a beady eye on Arteta, and picking him up would be a double-edged sword - adding a fine player to your squad, and removing a key man from that of a top six rival.
Arteta could be a fall-back position, one of two or three, in case the prime targets fail to come off.
Probability 4/10
Fernando Torres
Striker, Liverpool and Spain. Price £40m.
City want to add a top-class front man to play alongside Carlos Tevez, but they have to see how the ball falls when the European roulette wheel stops spinning.
Barcelona have set it in motion by paying £34m for Torres' Spain strike partner David Villa, and Real Madrid may also enter the bidding for the Liverpool spearhead.
Torres has said in the past that Champions League football is not the be-all-and- end-all, and he is not too keen on a move to Real, having been a star for rivals Atletico.
City will push hard to land Torres, but may, in the end, have to content themselves with the fall-out from whatever deals are done by the major clubs in Spain.
Probability 5/10
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