PEP NOW IN TOTAL CONTROL OF DEALS

PEP GUARDIOLA has taken control of Manchester City’s recruitment strategy.

After wasting a fortune in the transfer market over the last four years, there has been a significant shift in the way City handle deals.

Guardiola has been given power to identify and sign targets that predecessors Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini were never granted.

And he also has the final say on contract extensions.

City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain continues to handle negotiations when it comes to the minutiae of transfer fees and wages.

And Begiristain’s remit to attract the world’s best young talent to the club’s state-of-the-art £200million Academy also remains unchanged.

But the shift of power inside the Etihad is a big development.

A footballer insider with extensive experience of dealing with the club said: “It is not like it was under Mancini or Pellegrini. They made recommendations to the club, but the decision always belonged to Txiki.

“Now, absolutely nothing is done until it has been decided by Pep.”

Guardiola was attracted to City by the prospect of becoming a traditional manager with power to buy and sell.

The 46-year-old was mainly restricted to a coaching role at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

And the chance to work with former Barca directors Begiristain and Ferran Soriano was a major factor in his decision to join City. All three men trust each other implicitly.

However, Begiristain’s record in the transfer market has been wretched.

City have spent around £511million on new signings during his spell in charge of the chequebook, but Guardiola inherited one of the oldest squads in the Premier League.

City remain heavily reliant on players such as Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta, who were signed by Garry Cook and Brian Marwood.

Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling were signed 18 months ago, in the knowledge that they were admired by Guardiola, while the Catalan was key in the recruitment of tyros like John Stones, Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus last summer.

The power that Guardiola holds was best illustrated in the way he could dispose of keeper Joe Hart last summer – even though other influential members of the club’s hierarchy felt it was a mistake to replace the England No.1 with Claudio Bravo.

The blundering Chilean was dropped for City’s last two games and is unlikely to return for today’s visit of Swansea.