FACE TIME Pep’s set to axe his less than magnificent seven
MANCHESTER CITY are set for a huge summer rebuild after Pep Guardiola warned his players that they face Judgement Day at the end of the season.
Sunday Mirror Sport understands that the future of at least SEVEN of his squad is under threat, going into the last four months of the campaign.
Decisions will be made on John Stones, Benjamin Mendy, Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus, Joao Cancelo, Nicolas Otamendi and Angelino – players who cost the Premier League champions a massive £250million.
City will also lose out-of-contract pair David Silva and Claudio Bravo.
It means the Blues are braced to make at least five new signings, with academy graduates Phil Foden, Eric Garcia, Taylor HarwoodBellis and Tommy Doyle also likely to get more game time.
Liverpool’s all-conquering form has made winning the Premier League title for a third successive season impossible. But Guardiola knows that falling so far behind Jurgen Klopp’s side, after prevailing in last year’s titanic struggle at the top, has illustrated that his squad needs a reboot.
City are still challenging for a Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup Treble.
But Guardiola (below) said: “The judgement on the season will be made at the end of the season.
“Obviously, it is only a nice season when you win the biggest titles, so I don’t know.
“I am proud of my team, but winning the league isn’t that far away now for Liverpool. They would be champions in Timbuktu, in Australia and everywhere else – and we are not even close.
“We are in a good position to qualify for the Champions League, but we play the kings of the championship in Real Madrid, the team with 13 trophies. So ask me my opinion of the season at the end and I will tell you.” City are set to cash in on £37m Sane in the summer, with the long-time Bayern Munich target still refusing to sign a new contract as his current deal ticks down towards its final 12 months.
Angelino, who only returned to the club in a £5.3m deal from PSV Eindhoven in the summer, was loaned to RB Leipzig on Friday with an option for a £25m transfer.
Others exits will follow.
England defender Stones, a £49m signing from Everton three years ago, has struggled for both form and fitness over the last 18 months and City have shown no interest in extending a contract that expires in 2022.
Mendy has made just 41 appearances in almost three seasons in Manchester since arriving from Monaco for £52m – and the Frenchman’s lack of focus is as much a worry as his injury problems.
Jesus, 22, has not kicked on since announcing himself in a blaze of goals when he signed from Palmeiras for £27m in 2017, and has found it difficult to emerge from the shadow of record scorer Sergio Aguero.
There is hope that the Brazil striker can still develop into the player Guardiola envisaged when he earmarked him as Aguero’s successor.
Otamendi, 31, has been close to leaving City in the last two summers, but the failure to replace Vincent Kompany last year meant the £38m recruit from Valencia remained.
Cancelo has disappointed since he arrived in a deal which saw City pay Juventus £25.2m and use £25m-rated Danilo as a makeweight.
Valencia looked at the possibility of taking the 25-year-old full-back on loan this month, but Guardiola hopes the Portugal star just needs more time to adapt to the Premier League.