Manchester City make new Head of Physical Performance appointment | OneFootball

Manchester City have appointed Chris Elderkin as Head of Physical Performance as Hugo Viana continues to overhaul the club’s staff, as per a new report.

Viana has laid down an early marker after replacing Txiki Begiristain as director of football, spearheading Manchester City’s transfer business and playing an instrumental role in the acquisitions of Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders, Marcus Bettinelli and Rayan Cherki.

The Portuguese has wasted no time since his appointment and was involved in the club’s decision to not offer Kevin De Bruyne a contract renewal offer – before the Belgium international joined Napoli on a two-year deal.

From watching on and taking note of Guardiola’s training sessions from the sidelines to being an ever-present figure at games, Viana has quickly settled into his new role to mark what is a crossroads summer transfer window at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City have completed a majority of their summer transfer business prior to the FIFA Club World Cup, with each of their new signings registered in time to be eligible to feature at the tournament in the United States.

Potential outgoings and decisions on contracts of first-team stars who futures are in doubt are expected to dominate the headlines for the next few weeks, with Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips expected to find new clubs after being left out of the Club World Cup squad.

Bernardo Silva has decided to stay at Manchester City into the new season and has been appointed club captain for the new campaign. Ruben Dias, Rodri and Erling Haaland make up the rest of the leadership group as things stand – though Guardiola has said there may be an addition or two after the Club World Cup.

Ederson and Stefan Ortega Moreno were understood to be keen on a new chapter but Guardiola has stated he expects the want-away duo to stay put into the 2025-26 season amidst interest from Saudi Arabia and Germany respectively.

The Training Ground Guru is reporting that Manchester City have promoted Chris Elderkin to Head of Physical Performance at Manchester City, replacing Donough Holohan in what is considered a very senior and important role amongst doctoral staff at the club.

Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak admitted in his end-of-season review last month that the club hold regrets over not being an aggressive as they should have been in last summer’s transfer window.

City frantically entered the January transfer market and secured the arrivals of Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez to alleviate Guardiola’s personnel crisis.

With four new fresh faces in the building this summer as well, Guardiola and City are poised to challenge on all fronts and challenge Liverpool for the Premier League title next term after only finishing third in the recent league season.