Malky Mackay likes to do his business in private and annouce deals when completed as we've seen with Andreas Cornelius and even John Brayford's signing was virtually complete before any news of it was released.
But in the media frenzy that accompanies the Premier League that's not always possible.
City have had their noses bloodied with high profile rejections by Tom Ince and the Victor Wanyama saga.
Now the club are being linked with Toulouse midfielder Etienne Capoue with the Toulouse chairman saying City's offer has been the best so far and other clubs will need to at least match it.
“The clubs interested in Etienne have to know we will not accept any offer inferior to the one from Cardiff.” he said.
There have been suggestions the player has held talks with City but nothing official yet.
The other name on the list at the moment is Hector Moreno (pictured). It's believed City are competing with Swansea for the Mexican defenders signature.
Espanyol are believed to value Moreno at £8m with suggestions in one paper that Cardiff have offered £4m while another says Swansea have offered £6m.