Rich pickings must be taken
KEVIN DE BRUYNE says the pressure is on Manchester City to deliver trophies after Pep Guardiola’s record £200million spending spree.
Guardiola failed to win silverware for the first time in his managerial career in his debut season at City last term, despite spending £174m on players last summer.
Now Guardiola has embarked on a major squad overhaul designed to bring down the age level and inject new pace and energy into the team.
Asked what his side’s ambitions were this season after City finished third last term, Belgian midfielder De Bruyne said: “To do better than last season. We tried to have a good season and we came up a little short.
“In the end, that is just the way it goes.
“But we are progressing as a team. Everybody came back for pre-season sharp.
“Since I’ve been here there have been a lot of changes. We have bought a lot of young players, we have a little project coming on. It should be better than last year but also, don’t forget, there’s a lot of change again this summer with a lot of players coming in or going out.”
City are already considered title favourites by many but De Bruyne says the race will be more competitive than ever, with most of their rivals having spent heavily as well.
“There are six or seven teams in England who want to do the same as us, so it is never easy,” added De Bruyne. “But in the end, we will just try to do our job.”
City, beaten by neighbours United in their first pre-season USA tour game in Houston last week, will receive another indication of the level they need to reach tonight when they take on Champions League winners Real Madrid in Los Angeles.