Pep Guardiola offers hint towards Manchester City’s summer transfer business | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has provided a hint towards how Etihad Stadium officials could go about their business during the summer transfer window.

The expectation in various quarters is that Etihad Stadium officials will look towards recruitment in multiple areas of Pep Guardiola’s squad, as they look to hand their boss the right tools to continue to compete on all fronts in the next two years.

While Manchester City secured the long-awaited signing of a mainstay successor to Sergio Aguero last summer, in the form of Erling Haaland, noticeable departures were endured as the likes of Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, and Oleksandr Zinchenko all left the club.

As such, City have arguably lost pace in attacking positions, and a very specific skillset in the left-sided full-back role, with Zinchenko known for his abilities to operate as an inverted left-back.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of the weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final tie against Burnley, Pep Guardiola was asked whether Manchester City could look towards profiles of players that he currently does not have at his disposal.

To that question, the City boss simply responded, “Yeah.”

Pressed on whether he is looking for variety in his Manchester City first-team squad, the Catalan coach responded, “Yeah, it’s so important for the future.”

However, when asked for more specifics as to where this variety is required within his squad, Pep Guardiola was unable to deliver, instead claiming that variety is required throughout his first-team squad in the future.

City are expected to sign as many as four new players in the coming summer transfer market, with the central midfield roles understood to be the main focus of those in transfer-specific roles at the football club.

Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham is their number one priority for central midfield, with AC Milan’s Rafael Leao has admirers within Manchester City for the wide attacking role, as club scouts continue to monitor the performances of the Portuguese international.