Melbourne City

Ins:

Andrew Nabbout, Nathaniel Atkinson (failed Perth Glory move), Taras Gomulka, Matt Sutton, Aiden O'Neill, Marco Tillio, Ben Garuccio

Outs:

Denis Genreau (Macarthur Bulls), Dean Bouzanis (Sutton United), Josh Brillante (Xanthi FC), Lachy Wales (Western United), Joe Gauci (Adelaide United), Ramy Najjarine (Newcastle Jets, loan), Moudi Najjar (Macarthur Bulls, loan),

Re-Signed:

Rostyn Griffiths, Florin Berenguer

Already Contracted: Tom Glover, Richard Windbichler, Curtis Good, Scott Galloway, Adrián Luna, Stefan Colakovski, Markel Susaeta,

ANALYSIS

The A-League's richest club is also its keenest development club, which doubly insulates last season's Grand Finalists from the league's financial disaster.

City were even seemingly in the position to sign Nabbout on a whim, after the former Victory striker's failed move to Perth Glory, and have been similarly bolstered by the unexpected retention of Atkinson. 

The club have interestingly allowed three of their brightest prospects - Najjar, Najjarine and Genreau - to leave (some on loan) alongside the bigger departures of Wales and Brillante, with Craig Noone also expected to leave the club. 

But with O'Neill set to fit straight into the City midfield mold and Griffiths and Berenguer's re-signings proving the club are clearly happy to retain experienced talent, City unsurprisingly appear likely to continue where they left off.

Like their crosstown rivals, City's biggest question mark is over their new coach, Patrick Kisnorbo. His success at both youth and W-League level means less at a club that are powerhouses outside of the A-League, so whether he'll be able to retain Erick Mombaerts' je ne sais quoi remains to be seen.