Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany has asked the club to spend big in the summer, while chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak has intimated Pablo Zabaleta and Micah Richards are in line for new deals with the English Premier League side.
City were left trailing by United this season in the Premier League, which led to Roberto Mancini being fired from his job.
Manuel Pellegrini is expected to take over at the Etihad, and the new manager is expected to be handed a sizeable transfer kitty to spend on new players in the summer transfer window.
The likes of Isco from Pellegrini's former club Malaga and Edinson Cavani of Napoli are thought to be foremost on City's list, and Kompany believes it is essential for City to bring in quality to keep pace with the rest of the title rivals.
"I've seen every single club strengthen every season," Kompany is quoted by The Sun as saying. "Teams can come from nowhere and win the league.
"You cannot rule out Liverpool, Tottenham and even Everton were really good this year. Then you have the usuals like Arsenal, Chelsea and United.
"But there is a chance to strengthen our team and compete again for the league."
Meanwhile, Al-Mubarak has said the club have started contract negotiations with Zabaleta, by far City's best player this season, and Richards with the duo expected to follow the likes of Kompany, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero in committing their futures to the club.
"There are other players coming soon -- Zabaleta, Micah Richards," Al-Mubarak told the club's official website.
"We'll make sure these players stay part of the future at City because they are really the core of this team.
"As much as we need to continue to invest in this team we also need to invest in the core foundation of the team, which is these players."
