“That’s why we’ve done it” – Pep Guardiola explains Manchester City’s January transfer business and Omar Marmoush signing | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has openly discussed the reasoning behind the club’s January transfer business, and reasoning behind the signing of Omar Marmoush.

The Premier League champions have acted fast to strengthen their options in the squad at the midway stage of the campaign, in a clear change of direction from the trend set by the club in previous winter markets.

Prior to this season’s January window, City had only strengthened once under Pep Guardiola in terms of a big-money arrival when Aymeric Laporte arrived from Athletic Bilbao in 2018, while deals were arranged for Gabriel Jesus and Julian Alvarez to arrive in the following summer.

However, the ongoing market has seen Etihad Stadium officials bring in two new central defenders in Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis from RC Lens and Palmeiras respectively, while Omar Marmoush has come into the squad from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Speaking during a pre-match press conference this week in the build-up to Manchester City’s meeting with Arsenal in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola stressed he is ‘always happy’ with the decisions taken by the club in the market.

“The club, always I’m happy. They do what they believe is the best for the club, for now, and for the next years – two, three, five, 10 years. Always they try to do the best,” Pep Guardiola told reporters on Friday afternoon.

Asked specifically on the decision to bring in Omar Marmoush to the club from the Bundesliga in the biggest individual spend of the window so far, Guardiola explained, “The club decided to bring an extra player in the final third with the talent in scoring, assists, runs, and set-pieces.

“This season is exceptional for many things, and we should intervene to finish the season as best as possible, but these players don’t come for six months, they come for the next four, five, six years if everything is going well.”

Overall, the decision to invest in the market has been taken and has been able to be executed due to the club’s financial strength and position built over recent years, as stressed by the Catalan head coach this week.

“We went there (into the market) because financially we’re stable from the last seasons, still right now even after the investment we have done, we have been in profit over the last five seasons.

“That’s why we’ve done it, and maybe in future we’re going to continue to do it because financially the club has moved incredibly well in the last five, six years in terms of sales and players that made incredible performances that helped us to win what we won,” he said.

But on the subject of any further business between now and Monday’s transfer deadline for the winter window, Pep Guardiola insisted, “I don’t know,” with a new defensive midfielder yet to be brought in despite a widespread belief that such a position was necessary for recruitment.