Support truly
independent journalism
Pep Guardiola was staring at the start of a season that could span 48 weeks for Manchester City. He has often sounded the alarm about the impact of a crowded schedule for players and the Club World Cup will only add to it. He also reflected on the challenge City face to retain the Premier League title. “Everyone wants the crown that we have worn for four years,” he said. “I understand it.” Some of his rivals do more than merely want it: they seek to strengthen to secure it. Manchester United have been more active in the transfer market. “They’ve done it for many years, but it’s not news; just when City spend,” noted Guardiola. It could be seen as an observation or a dig.
And if it has been a quiet summer in the blue side of Manchester, with only Savinho arriving, Julian Alvarez’s departure to Atletico Madrid raises the question if City will be weaker this season. “I’m very pleased with the squad for the quality of human beings and the quality,” countered Guardiola. He has touted the introduction of the teenager Nico O’Reilly to the squad and the return of James McAtee from loan at Sheffield United, while admitting Sergio Gomez, another fringe figure, is a loss.
“We made a good transfer market in terms of good financial issues,” Guardiola said. Alvarez will net a club-record £82m. City should bank a further £50m from Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Liam Delap, Tommy Doyle and Gomez, with the promise of around £25m to follow if, as expected, Yan Couto’s loan to Borussia Dortmund becomes a permanent move. All of which means others could up their prices when City come calling. “Clubs are waiting with a red carpet for us,” Guardiola said.
And yet there was an acknowledgement that City could be short in two positions; each where the first choice is indispensable. One has long been apparent – given the over-reliance on Rodri – and the other is a developing situation, with Alvarez’s sale: who plays if Erling Haaland does not? “We have alternatives and we will see if we need someone,” said Guardiola. His squad features several who flourished as a false nine before the Norwegian joined, in Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne, but no other specialist centre-forward; even for him, recalibrating the tactics whenever Haaland does not play feels quite a task.
In theory, he has two specialist defensive midfielders but he did not namecheck Kalvin Phillips – unlike Mateo Kovacic, Rico Lewis, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and O’Reilly – among the options to stand in for Rodri. Phillips has instead been used as a central defender in pre-season. “He’s a centre midfielder but Kalvin likes to see all the game in front of him,” said Guardiola; a more damning assessment followed. “When he is in the middle surrounded by players he struggles. I think he’s confident at the back.”
If Phillips represents a rare failure in the transfer market, part of City’s difficulty in a recruitment drive relates to the job descriptions. Alvarez played plenty of games – 54 last season – but was never destined to be the first-choice centre-forward when Haaland was around. Rodri shoulders a huge workload, with 257 games in five seasons at City.
In each case, a deputy who could not fill another role makes less sense to Guardiola. “We will see but we would not want to spend a lot of money on players who would not play many games,” he said. “If we need someone, it has to be the right price.” And while Alvarez was a £14m bargain, a cheaper player may not have the quality required.
All of which suggests that City may target the versatile: to bring in players capable of understudying Rodri and Haaland but also playing alongside them. “Yeah, maybe,” said Guardiola. “[Someone who] can play forward, attacking midfielder, winger, or a holding midfielder who can play central defender.”
That adaptability made Alvarez invaluable for City; a striker when Haaland was absent for two months last season, he was often otherwise a midfielder. Yet, and while City tried to ease their dependence on Rodri by signing Phillips in 2022, it has instead been exacerbated since then. It is odd they have not acted: they lost all three league games when the Spaniard was suspended last season and had he missed even two more games, it might have cost them the title.
And yet a challenge – beyond identifying those who meet Guardiola’s exacting standards - is persuading players to join for a seat on the bench for the season-defining games. “Maybe there are guys who think they can compete with Haaland and will come,” said the City manager. “We will see at the end of the market if a club needs to sell more than they do now.”
But if City’s starting 11 may not need purchases, the squad surely does. And if even City may not buy players of the calibre of Haaland and Rodri, there is a growing requirement for someone who can give them a rest in the longest season.
