City onslaught is now on

THE club record £57-million (R943million) capture of French centreback Aymeric Laporte took Manchester City’s spending on defence in the past year beyond the budgets of many nations.

But the Frenchman could be the final piece of a more than £200-million (R3.3-billion) defensive overhaul to provide the foundations in City’s quest for a historic quadruple.

Pep Guardiola’s men kick-off a run of four matches in four different competitions today with a return to Champions League action at Basel in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

An FA Cup fifth-round tie at Wigan follows before Arsenal await in the League Cup final and then another meeting with the Gunners in the Premier League – where City boast a 16-point lead at the top of the table.

However, it is for the Champions League stage that Guardiola was lured by City’s Abu-Dhabi owners and given enormous resources with which to mould an all-conquering squad.

“I have always dreamt of big things and one of them being the Champions League,” said Laporte on his arrival from Athletic Bilbao on last month’s transfer deadline day.

Virgil van Dijk’s £75-million (R1.2billion) January move to Liverpool means Laporte is only the secondmost expensive defender ever.

But City now boast four of the top six in that category with Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker and John Stones also costing a combined £150-million (R2.5-billion) over the past 18 months.

Goalkeeper Ederson’s performances have justified his £35-million (R579.4-million) purchase from Benfica in the summer, while Danilo has largely been used as a back-up in both fullback roles despite also setting City back £27-million (R447-million) from Real Madrid in the summer.

It is therefore little surprise that Guardiola’s complaints that he “had no players” with which to fill his bench in a recent 1-1 draw at Burnley were met with little sympathy.

However, it does raise questions over whether another strengthening at centre-back was what was needed from a January window in which they missed out on more forward-thinking targets in Alexis Sanchez and Riyad Mahrez.

Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus will miss both legs against Basel due to long-term ankle and knee injuries respectively, while David Silva’s role has been limited due to the premature birth of his son and injury.

Sergio Aguero’s four-goal haul in disposing of Leicester 5-1 on Saturday suggests City will have the firepower to see of the Swiss champions while hoping to have Sane and Jesus fit in time for the quarterfinals. —