Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
How to be Champions
EXCLUSIVE: THE BLUEPRINT BEHIND PEP’S CITY REVOLUTION
MANCHESTER CITY want to go into the new season with a squad that gives Pep Guardiola TWO top players for EVERY position. City are looking to bring in up to four new faces in the coming weeks in a bid to hand Guardiola the tools to defend the Premier League title, FA Cup and Carabao Cup – as well as mounting a more sustained challenge for the Champions League.
But we can reveal how director of football Txiki Begiristain is now working to a blueprint designed to keep the club among the elite of European football for the long term.
Incredibly, Begiristain works three to four transfer windows in advance – and is now putting together the players for the
2021-22 season.
After spending almost
£300million in 2017 to reduce the average age of Guardiola’s squad, the belief at the Etihad is that City are now moving towards a position where their recruitment will be one of
evolution rather than revolution. A senior City insider explained: “The idea behind Txiki’s plan is for Pep to have a squad that gives him two top-quality players for every single position.
“And the perfect scenario is for one experienced player to be challenging for his position in the team with a younger member of the squad. “At the start of last season, for example, Ederson and Claudio Bravo were in competition for the keeper’s jersey – until Bravo was injured. “At centre-back, there was the experience of Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi and younger guys such as John Stones and Aymeric Laporte. “In midfield, David Silva and Fernandinho are both in their 30s, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne a little younger, with Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden younger still. Up front, Sergio Aguero is supplemented by Gabriel Jesus, while the wide positions are filled by Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez.
“As older players are phased out, the younger players come to the fore – and the whole process becomes cyclical, with new signings and academy graduates coming through to challenge them.”
City have a net transfer spend of more than £1billion in the transfer market in the 11 years since Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group bought the club.
But, after lavishing more than £500m on players since Guardiola took charge three years ago, the belief is the squad can now be improved without breaking the bank.
While traditional European giants, such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus will take football’s spending in the transfer market to new levels of extravagance this summer, City are planning around only £135m.
Begiristain identified Ajax’s Matthijs de Ligt and Leicester’s Harry Maguire as candidates to replace now-departed skipper Kompany.
Despite reports that De Ligt has agreed to join Juventus, sources in Holland reckon City still have a “30 per cent chance” of landing the Dutchman if they agree to work with the teenager’s controversial adviser, Mino Raiola.
And club sources also believe Leicester will reduce their £90m valuation of Maguire, if the player makes it clear he wants to move.
City have earmarked another £55m to sign Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodri, 22, after deciding he is the long-term replacement for Fernandinho.
An option to trigger a £10m buy-back clause to bring in Spanish defender Angelino from PSV Eindhoven is another deal likely to go through.
And, while City are in talks with Juventus about signing £55m-rated full-back Joao Cancelo, as Sunday Mirror Sport revealed last week, the deal still hinges on whether versatile Brazilian Danilo opts to leave the Etihad.
City are also waiting to hear whether Otamendi also wants to leave for more game time, although there are no plans to replace the Argentine centre-back.
Guardiola feels Fernandinho is equipped to move back into central defence, if required.
City will listen to offers for Fabian Delph and will look to recoup around £70m, if Danilo and Otamendi decide to leave.
As older players are phased out, the younger ones come to the fore