In the wake of the Brexit vote, panic has set in among some Manchester City fans that the club did not get its transfer business done quickly enough this summer and now faces an uphill task signing players. The reality is that while Brexit does impact the prices the Blues will pay for players coming from continental Europe, the imminent exit of Britain from the EU does not yet negatively effect the work permitting process for players. For now, those who are signed from EU countries and have EU passports do not need a work permit. But in the future players such as City's lone high-profile summer signing to this point İlkay Gündoğan would need a work permit if the UK Home Office and Premier League cannot work some sort of accommodation with the EU.
In the current Manchester City squad no players have to worry about the work permit issue once Britain leaves the EU. However, it will impact the ability in the future of City to buy players from the continent. Even last season, the likes of N'Golo Kante at Leicester, arguably the most impactful summer 2015 signing in English football and Anthony Martial at Manchester United among others would be blocked from a work permit in a post-EU world. So while the short-term impact is minimal the long-term impact once new work permit rules are adopted and the UK is formally no longer an EU member could be catastrophic for the ability of Premier LEague clubs including Manchester City to compete on the open market for players.
However for at least this summer it's business as usual for Manchester City and other English clubs. In fact the fears of what signing policies will be like after Brexit is implemented may lead to a run on transfers and a stockpiling of players for youth academies in this transfer window. While unlikely, new rules might be in effect as early as the January window and are far more likely to be in place by next summer.
Fans can rest easy for now - no change yet though the Blues do need to get moving on closing some of the rumored deals!