By Sulaimon Jamiu
Pep Guardiola hopes to freshen up his squad with at least three new faces in a bid to finally conquer Europe next season.
Argentine forward Julian Alvarez is already coming to Manchester City in the summer as a £14million switch from River Plate was agreed in January.
The Cityzens are expected to win the battle for Borussia Dortmund and Norwegian’s hot-shot, Erling Haaland, despite early and keen interest from Real Madrid.
The 21-year-old has a release clause in his contract with the German club and is happy with the personal terms on offer at his dad, Alf Inge’s old club.
Pep is also looking at central midfield with club captain Fernandinho, 37, returning to Brazil at the end of the season after nine years at the Etihad. A move for England’s Declan Rice has been ruled out for this summer due to West Ham’s £150million asking price.
Guardiola’s admiration for Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong is well known and he could be sold as the Catalan club look to slash their debts.
Yet there could be further changes with question marks hanging over the future of several long-serving players.
A clutch of stars including Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan will have just a year remaining on their contracts in June. If suitable bids were to come in for any of those during the window, it would give the title chasers a dilemma, at least until fresh terms are agreed.
City have no senior left-backs available, with Benjamin Mendy suspended by the club and awaiting trial for rape and sexual assault. Meanwhile, popular midfielder Bernardo Silva said he wanted a move closer to his home in Portugal last summer, although he has since indicated he is happy at City.
Guardiola himself is heading towards the last 12 months of his existing deal and has put any talks over his future on hold while he focuses on trying to win a fourth Prem title in five seasons.
However, his bid to bring a first Champions League trophy to the Etihad ended in heartbreak in the Bernabeu on Wednesday night, where place in the final was snatched away from them right at the death as Real Madrid struck three times in six remarkable minutes.
The City boss now faces the task of trying to lift his players for their final four Premier League matches, starting against Newcastle on Sunday.
