Top 5 Priorities For Pep Guardiola This Summer As He Looks To Win The League With Man City
Manchester City made a blistering start to the close season, announcing two important transfers in a matter of days; the capture of Bernardo Silva from AS Monaco for £43.6million, followed by the signing of goalkeeper Ederson Moraes from SL Benfica for £34.9million.
When you go and sign two very important players from two clubs who were champions in their domestic leagues, it does go onto show the kind of intent and mindset that City kicked things off with.
Having let go of several veterans from the squad at the end of the season, Pep Guardiola wants to stamp his authority on this Manchester City squad and the club is backing him to the hilt in his quest to turn the Sky Blues into English superpowers, just like he did with Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the past.
While the early work that has been done is laudable, there is a lot more that the Catalan tactician needs to sort out before the season begins and here are the five things that will be on top of his to-do list:
Get Kyle Walker Deal Done
Having released long-time servants of the club Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna go at the end of the season, Guardiola and City are severely short-handed in the right-back department.
City have been linked with a move for former Barcelona defender Dani Alves, who left Juventus last month in order to push through a move to the Citizens (Guardian). However, at 34 years of age, he hardly represents a long-term solution for the club. This is where City’s pursuit of Tottenham’s Kyle Walker becomes extremely pivotal.
The 27-year old has been on Guardiola’s wish list for quite some time now, but the two clubs haven’t been able to agree on a deal as of yet, despite negotiations going on for a while (Independent). Walker will be a huge signing for the club in the coming years and the manager would want it to be done at the earliest.
Sign A New Left-Back
Much like the situation at right-back, City are clearly understaffed in the left-back position as well after having let go of Frenchman Gael Clichy last month. With just Aleksandar Kolarov as the available option, a new left-sided full-back will also be a top priority for Guardiola.
AS Monaco’s Benjamin Mendy has been the name touted to come in and take over the mantle at left-back, but there hasn’t been much progress achieved on that front. However, with the French champions signing Terence Kongolo as a replacement, a deal for Mendy may well be completed in the near future (Telegraph).
Solve The Joe Hart Conundrum
This is arguably the biggest headache for Guardiola at the moment – what does he do with Joe Hart? The England shot-stopper is a fan favourite at City, but found himself forced through the doors last season for a temporary spell at Torino as the new boss deemed him unfit for his way of operation and brought in Claudio Bravo from Barcelona.
With Torino not wanting to sign him permanently, he is back at City and is waiting to get his future sorted out. There has been reported interest from the likes of Newcastle United and West Ham United, while local rivals Manchester United too have been linked with a shock swoop. With Bravo struggling in his debut season, there might be an outside chance that Hart does stay at Etihad, but it seems highly unlikely and a conclusion on his future should be arrived upon soon.
Clear Out The Dead Wood
The amount of investment that is going into building the squad that Guardiola wants, City will need to ship some players out as well in the summer, to balance their books in accordance with the Financial Fair Play rules.
With Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus being the preferred striking options, and one more new striker expected to arrive, the club will need to sell the unwanted options like Wilfried Bony, who had a poor loan spell at Stoke City last season. Kelechi Iheanacho, who has been attracting a lot of interest from several PL clubs needs to be sent out too.
The likes of Fernando and Fabian Delph are also unlikely to get much game time, with Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, and Ilkay Gundogan all ahead in the pecking order. So a move away for them too must be arranged, while defender Eliaquim Mangala also needs to be sold.
Alexis Sanchez To Etihad?
There have been a lot of rumours flying around that Guardiola is seeking a reunion with former Barcelona man Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean is locked up in contract negotiations with Arsenal and with talks not going as planned, City stand a chance to make a swoop for him.
The Citizens are extremely well-equipped in the attacking areas and reinforcements in these positions may not be the need of the hour, but when a player of Alexis’s calibre becomes available, it is bound to turn heads. The former Barcelona and Udinese man was on top form last season and finished with a brilliant tally of 30 goals and 19 assists from all competitions.
It is not new, players switching from Arsenal to Manchester City in the recent past – with the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna all making the move from North London to the North West of England. The lack of Champions League football at the Emirates may play against the Gunners too.