Premier League beware...City will only get better!
CITY have dominated the Premier League, and are on course to smash several English records this season.
And Pep Guardiola has already warned Blues fans it won’t always be like this, leaving title rivals eating dust as they disappear over the horizon.
United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs are all sure to strengthen next season, and the race should be much closer next time.
But the bad news for City’s rivals is that they will only get stronger next season – and this is why:
TRANSFER MARKET THERE will be no repeat of last summer’s world-record splurge, but there are clearly tweaks to be made to the squad.
City have a relatively small squad, but with Yaya Toure leaving they need another holding midfielder, plus an attacking player and possibly a versatile defender.
They are already eyeing up Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Weigl and Napoli ace Jorginho for the first one, while Riyad Mahrez – or even a more ambitious move for Eden Hazard – is also on the cards.
BENJAMIN MENDY IT is hard to underestimate how big a blow it was to lose the left-back so soon into the new season.
And it is testament to Pep Guardiola’s resourcefulness and the spirit of the squad that they have had such a brilliant season without a recognised left-back.
Fabian Delph has been outstanding, but Mendy would have given Guardiola an extra dimension, both in attack and defence.
The Frenchman’s last three games saw them smash Liverpool 5-0, Feyenoord 4-0 and Watford 6-0 – and he allows them to play three at the back with extra verve.
WINNING MENTALITY VINCENT Kompany said that at times last season it felt like Pep Guardiola was ‘speaking Chinese’ as he tried to instil his ideas into City heads, and then make them believe they would work in the Premier League.
The breakthrough this season has been spectacular, but it has still been a work in progress.
Now the understanding – and the belief – is complete and the squad goes into next season KNOWING that they have a successful formula.
FINANCIAL POWER THE myth City are still being propped up by Sheikh Mansour’s wallet has been exposed, and City are now a global football superpower in their own right. The Blues are the only English team to have been in the Champions League in each of the last seven seasons and their revenue has rocketed as a result.
They earned £54m from the run to the quarter-finals this season, and with no profit-hungry owners or shareholders to satisfy, they can plough earnings back into the club.
YOUNG GUNS IT is hard to believe Phil Foden does not turn 18 until next month.
He and Brahim Diaz have given everyone a tantalising glimpse of the future this season – and a year on, as they mature physically and mentally, they will add to Guardiola’s options.
There will also be more academy products getting their chance on the summer tour - Pablo Maffeo, Angus Gunn, Jacob Davenport, Rabbi Matondo, Lukas Nmecha and Manu Garcia are names that keep getting whispered.