City exit will herald Pep shake- up
THERE was a sombre mood among Manchester City players as their fl ight home from Madrid touched down at 4am yesterday. And it was not just because of the red- eye time of arrival, partly caused by Nicolas Otamendi’s struggle to meet the requirements of the dope- testing officials.
Many of the players knew they had just been involved in their last Champions League game for the club.
Pep Guardiola’s arrival will spark a signifi cant overhaul of a squad who have come up woefully short in the Premier League and, in the fi nal analysis, did not do enough as Real Madrid cruised to a 1- 0 win in the Champions League semi- fi nals.
Gareth Bale tried to be diplomatic but could barely contain his surprise that City’s attacking threat was so muted .
No doubt Guardiola, as he tried to shake off his own upset at failing at the last- four stage for a third straight season at Bayern Munich, will have noted City’s shortcomings as well.
His close friend, Txiki Begiristain, City’s sporting director, has been working for months on summer signings to ensure Guardiola’s revolution starts with a bang.
City are close to completing a move for Borussia Dortmund midfi elder Ilkay Gundogan and there is also interest in his team- mate PierreEmerick Abuyemang, Juventus midfi elder Paul Pogba, Athletic Bilbao centre- back Aymeric Laporte, Everton defender John Stones, Barcelona goalkeeper Marc- Andre Ter Stegen and West Ham left- back Aaron Cresswell. Yaya Toure is likely to be the most high- profi le departure while the exit list will also include Martin Demichelis, Pablo Zabaleta, Aleksandar Kolarov, Wilfried Bony and possibly Jesus Navas.
A further worry for Guardiola is Vincent Kompany’s ongoing injury nightmare. He had a scan yesterday to assess the extent of the groin problem that forced him off after only eight minutes at the Bernabeu – the 33rd injury he has suffered in his eight years with the club.
City will give their talismanic club captain as much time as he needs to get to the bottom of his injuries, but Guardiola will be concerned about going into his fi rst season in English football relying on a captain who is struggling to string two consecutive games together.
City have to recover quickly, mentally as well as physically, to ensure Guardiola is managing a team in the Champions League next season.
If they lose to Arsenal on Sunday and Manchester United win at Norwich tomorrow , their neighbours will be only a point behind with a game in hand.
Goalkeeper Joe Hart said: “Roll on Sunday, we’re looking forward to it. We go again and we can cement our place in the Champions League.
“That’s important for the club and for myself. Nights like that at the Bernabeu are amazing and I want to keep them coming.
“In the Champions League this year we have grown and shown some good moments and we have to take them into next season.”