In an era of financial fair play (FFP) and elite financial dominance for a select group of 'superclubs' , it would be fair to assume that, just like for the last decade, the same bracket of teams will dominate the English Premier League for years to come. Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham (and Everton to a lesser extent) exercise financial muscle that allows them to maintain their strength year-on-year.

Whilst all of these teams are slowly starting to generate profits in this new era of FFP, of all teams in that superlative category, Manchester City would appear to be approaching the most testing of futures.

The Swiss Ramble's in-depth blog on City's finances largely concludes that City are firmly 'on track' in their 'masterplan' to begin breaking even soon, with respectable profits forecast for seasons to come. Chief executive Ferran Soriano suspects that they've reached a 'new level of financial sustainability'.

That sounds especially positive and good from that perspective, but when you consider two further factors surrounding the club with these finances, the immediate future isn't so straightforward.

Firstly, this Manchester City team is old. Really old. You talk of how teams go through cycles (Ferguson supposedly 'built' five teams in his 26-year tenure at Old Trafford), eventually winding down as they expire from their peak. This team will need freshening up at its core to stay competitive, and of England's superpowers, City are nearest to that recycling point.

Pablo Zabaleta is 30, Gael Clichy is 29, Vincent Kompany 28, Yaya Toure 31, Fernandinho 29, David Silva 29, James Milner 29, Jesus Navas 29. Joe Hart, Eliaquim Mangala and Sergio Aguero are the only starting players at a respectable age.

Either way, at an average of around 29.1 (the oldest in the Premier League), this team will need a significant overhaul to get it revamped and competitive.

The problem is, building a team from scratch will cost hundreds of millions, which will test City's financial strength to the max. I criticised the decadent outlay of Wilfried Bony (and received a fair amount of stick for it), because I felt £30m was far too much for a potentially peripheral figure to Sergio Aguero. The general rebuttal that my detractors pointed to was to outline that the current market demands figures of that magnitude for proven, guaranteed quality.

Fair. But if Bony costs £30m, what will another Yaya Toure, David Silva or Vincent Kompany amount to? And they're not the only players that need replacing long-term. To overhaul this squad will require Man City to sell some valuable assets and deal in the transfer markets astutely. But an ageing squad will hardly bring in huge capital to supplement a spending spree.

If you look at Chelsea's transfer dealings, they've managed to invest while selling really competently to stay financially healthy (De Bruyne, Andre Schurrle, Romlelu Lukaku, David Luiz and Juan Mata has brought in around £140m in the past two years). City will surely have to do the same.

Contextualising this with a long-term perspective hits the nail on the head, and it's something that Gary Neville strongly alluded to after City's 0-2 defeat to Arsenal.

That is, even if Man City do manage to recycle this team without breaching FFP regulations and maintaining competitive, will they kick onto European superiority like they really should be doing?

Despite all of their recent success, this team has plateaued. They're an excellent domestic team, but they're still very much on the periphery of Europe's very elite. They haven't kicked on since their first domestic success in 2012. And for a team that's had nearing on a billion pounds invested in them, is that a good enough return?

Overall, it's the combination of those three factors that paints a slightly darker future for this ageing team. Essentially, if City do manage to recycle their team against that backdrop of financial regulations, will they be able to construct a team that can compete with Europe's biggest teams?

It's by no means impossible, but with all things considered, it's easy to look at Manchester City as perhaps the biggest English team with the most precarious immediate future.