Pep Guardiola issues word of warning on Manchester City’s summer transfer business | OneFootball

Manchester City will not bring in a huge amount of new faces into their first-team squad this summer, despite the increasing strains put on players through fixtures.

Off the back of a season that has been full of complications and challenges for both Manchester City’s players and Pep Guardiola himself, plenty of change is expected for the off-season ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

The Etihad Stadium will welcome in a new full-time sporting director in Hugo Viana, as the Portuguese official takes the role of Txiki Begiristain after 12 seasons in the position from the Spaniard at Manchester City.

And the task at hand for the 41-year-old could not be any greater with a number of areas of Guardiola’s playing squad in need of a refresh, as well as the simple fact of needing more numbers to cope with the increasing demands and fixtures in the game at present.

Matters were made more challenging for those in squad planning positions earlier this month too, when a decision was made to not renew Kevin De Bruyne’s contract after a decade of service, meaning a new attacking midfielder to replace the legendary Belgian is also required.

Speaking ahead of Manchester City’s clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, Pep Guardiola was quizzed on the club’s transfer business this summer, in what is widely expected to be a significant market for the organisation in terms of investment.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Guardiola said, before issuing a warning on the number of players that club will look to bring in over the course of the summer transfer window.

“Of course the Club is working, but we are not going to have 45 players in the squad,” he continued. “It’s not sustainable, in terms of emotionally for the team.

“We have to see, except Kevin [De Bruyne], all the other contracts and we’ll see until the end how they behave, how we are, and we are going to see.”

Guardiola was also keen to pile on the praise for Crystal Palace and England defensive midfielder Adam Wharton, who has been tipped as a Manchester City transfer target in recent months but largely prior to the club signing Nico Gonzalez from FC Porto in January.

“An excellent holding midfielder,” the Catalan coach said of the Selhurst Park star. “With the previous manager he was in the [England] national team already.

“The impact has been really good coming from the Championship to the Premier League. Brilliant left-foot, really good player.”

While Wharton is no doubt a player that retains admiration from the Etihad, the chances of the club may have declined following the arrival of Nico in the winter market. However, Guardiola has already suggested the Spaniard could player further forward in his side.