by Reg » Thu Apr 12, 2018 9:37 am
Pep Guardiola spending at Man City could top £600 million as he targets three more 'big' players this summer
11 APRIL 2018 • 10:30PM
Pep Guardiola’s spending at Manchester City could top £600 million in two years as he targets three more players this summer in a bid to address successive Champions League failures and build on the club’s domestic dominance.
City crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday night when the worst week of their season culminated in a 2-1 loss to Liverpool in the second leg of their bruising 5-1 aggregate quarter-final defeat.
It was the latest in a long line of European disappointments for Guardiola, dating back five seasons to 2014 with Bayern Munich, and City’s third defeat in seven days following the 3-0 first leg defeat to Liverpool and a 3-2 reverse against Manchester United on Saturday that denied the club the Premier League title.
Yet City’s hierarchy, who have already backed Guardiola to the tune of almost £450m since he took charge in June 2016, believe there is no cause for alarm and will continue with plans to sign a defensive midfielder, versatile forward and probably a centre-half.
Julian Weigl, of Borussia Dortmund, Shakhtar Donetsk’s Fred, Jorginho at Napoli and Jean-Michel Seri, who plays for Nice, are midfield targets, each of whom would cost around £40m or upwards.
City have a keen interest in the £90m-rated France forward Thomas Lemar, at Monaco, from whom they signed Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy last summer.
Eden Hazard would be considered a dream target by Guardiola but there is thought to be an acceptance that Chelsea will not countenance the Belgium forward’s sale to the Premier League leaders at any cost and that, if he does leave Stamford Bridge this summer, it is likely to be for Real Madrid.
City tried and failed to buy £60m-rated Algeria playmaker Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City in January. A centre-half is considered less of a priority than a defensive midfielder and forward but City are continuing to monitor Toby Alderweireld’s situation at Tottenham among other defenders.
The Belgian, who, like Fred, is also attracting interest from United, is expected to leave Spurs this summer and would cost about £40m, although Tottenham would much prefer to sell him abroad if he does not sign a new contract, with Paris St-Germain an option.
Any move for a centre-half is likely to hinge over whether Guardiola decides to trust in the fitness of captain Vincent Kompany for a second successive summer. The Belgium defender’s return to fitness and good form in the final months of last season persuaded Guardiola that a central defender was less of a priority only for Kompany to miss much of this campaign due to more injuries and leave the manager short of cover for Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones.
City ended up signing French centre-half Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao for a club-record £57.1m in January, since when Kompany has returned to action again. But Guardiola must determine if he is happy to run the risk of being left with just three centre-backs if Kompany breaks down again.