Vincent Kompany says the enormous financial investment by Premier League clubs has made it impossible not to strive for the Premier League.

City are amongst the biggest culprits of bloated spending, having spent over £100m on three players so far this summer.

According to the Belgium international, the amount of money spent on transfers by a number of clubs has made it difficult to seperate who is the front runners are next season.

Kompany said: "It's hard to say who are going to be favourites. In my opinion, more teams than ever can claim that they want to be Premier League champions.

"Or not just can be — they have to be. The distinction is important. They have to because everybody is investing heavily at the moment."