Manchester City prepared to make minimal changes to Pep Guardiola’s squad despite money available | OneFootball

Officials at the Etihad Stadium are reportedly prepared to make few changes to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City squad despite having the money available to invest.

The Premier League champions are yet to make any official signings for their first-team squad this summer, despite pre-season preparations and training regimes returning in around two weeks’ time, and a tour of the United States looming.

The feeling earlier in the year was that Manchester City’s four-game tour of the east coast of the United States could act as an opportunity to assess the levels of new signings, however at present it appears unlikely that any will feature.

With that being said, one deal is seemingly close to completion, with reports this week suggesting that Brazil international Savio would put pen to paper on a five-year deal at the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2029.

But while the attacking talent appears set for a place in Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad for the forthcoming season, could the 20-year-old be the only new face coming into the side this summer?

According to the information of The Athletic’s Sam Lee, it could be a ‘pretty quiet’ summer at Manchester City, despite the club’s intention to make signings and having the money available to spend.

However, it is explained that officials within the Etihad Stadium consider the squad at Pep Guardiola’s disposal to be ‘strong’ and in ‘no need of major rebuilding’ unless existing players leave.

On the subject of outgoings, which may also explain the reluctancy to speculate over widespread changes in the squad, the report explains that it is currently ‘considered unlikely’ that too many players will leave Manchester City this summer.

There remains the possibility however that Manchester City officials are awaiting the culmination of the sport’s two major tournaments ongoing in Europe, and North and South America this summer.

Two of the club’s primary central midfield targets, for example, are currently competing in the latter stages of the European Championships and Copa America, with both Bruno Guimaraes and Joshua Kimmich leaving their futures until after the tournaments.

Guimaraes recently saw a release clause in his current Newcastle United contract expire, meaning that should Manchester City wish to sign the player, they will have to directly negotiate a fee with their Premier League rivals.

The English top-flight champions, as well as the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, were unwilling to meet the Magpies’ £100 million release clause valuation on the midfielder prior to its expiry at the end of last month.