For a very, very long time Manchester City have been dwarfed by their local rivals Manchester United. When it comes to winning trophies there are no comparisons, United are in a league of their own when it comes to success. That’s the way it will be in the future to, City will never be bigger than United while the Red Devils keep their firm grip on all the glory.

There has been constant speculation that City would become bigger than their rivals thanks to becoming the richest club in the world. However, that hasn’t happened. Last season United were once again kings of the Premier League while City failed to even qualify for next seasons Europa League. While a lot of City fans claimed they weren’t disappointed you can’t help but think there was a small part of them that thought they would do better.

Well as the players return from their summer holidays and the transfer market starts to gather momentum things are looking up if you are from the blue half of Manchester. Finally Mark Hughes side seem to be actually attracting a few big names, rather than just throwing money into the dark and hoping a star will come out of it. Carlos Tevez looks set to join Robinho as the second big name player to join the club.

The Argentina international looks to be on the verge of joining United’s local rivals after walking away from Old Trafford. Certainly that will make a few United fans pig sick that they couldn’t keep the bullish striker who has become so popular with their fan base. United fans might be even sicker to see City bring in Samuel Eto’o, then man who help break United hearts in last seasons Champions League finally.

As we will have read City have made a monster off for Eto’o and Barcelona president Joan Laporta seems to have hinted the Cameroon international will consider the deal. The signing of Eto’o would certainly send out a message that City are capable of bringing in the big boys, albeit through singing some very big cheques.

If Tevez and Eto’o do join City you can see more star names being inclined to follow and while the rest of the Premier League is seemingly struggling to attract the attention of Europe’s top stars City look like they could buck the trend. It’s too early to say what will happen next season, with Hughes still to finalise his squad, but it already looks like City could be capable of challenging for a top fur finish.