Pep Guardiola saw his Manchester City side win the Premier League by a solitary point last season and will now spend the summer strengthening his squad to ensure they can keep their noses in front.
Premier League champions Manchester City, who retained their title in dramatic style on the last day of the season ahead of Liverpool, are wasting no time in staying ahead of the pack. Having already addressed their striker shortage by signing two forwards in the form of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund and Julian Alvarez from River Plate, City have set their sights on reinforcing their midfield options.
Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and Leeds man Kalvin Phillips are two of the names on Pep Guardiola’s wish-list, as City look to get their transfer business done and dusted before the squad returns for pre-season training next month. Mirror Sport has rounded up the latest City transfer news and rumours.
Guardiola could be ready to gazump City’s local rivals Manchester United by beating them to the signing of Barcelona midfielder De Jong. United are in talks to sign De Jong, who has been reluctant to link up with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, because of the lack of Champions League football on offer at Old Trafford. That could leave the way clear for City to hijack United’s move for the £70m-rated Dutch star, according to Mundo Deportivo.
Just days after confirming the £51million signing of Haaland from Dortmund, City are ready to make another addition, with a formal offer to Leeds for their £50m-rated midfielder Phillips.
City’s bid for Phillips, first reported by Mirror Football last month, has been followed up by The Athletic, who claim the Blues are ready to make their move for the 26-year-old, to replace Fernandinho, who left this summer after nine years. with a “substantial” offer for the player in the region of “£45m and £50m” with the belief that Phillips would “push for the move”.
After significant spending City are set to balance the books, though, according to the Daily Telegraph. They claim that City are hoping to raise in excess of £200m this summer through the sale of players. Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus are the most high-profile players City are reportedly keen to move on, but funds are also set be generated by shifting on the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Nathan Ake or Ilkay Gundogan plus fringe youngsters such as Yangel Herrera and forward Morgan Rogers.