Club signed four players in January, with three more deals close to done this summer and more expected
Pep Guardiola is backing a wave of fresh faces on and off the pitch to help Manchester City bounce back after a disappointing 2024–25 season.
The reigning world champions ended the campaign without a major domestic trophy for the first time since Guardiola’s debut season in 2016-17, finishing 13 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League and securing Champions League football only on the last day.
Guardiola has acknowledged the need to change the trajectory after losing nine league matches and failing to score in six, a sharp dip in standards for his usually dominant side.
“Give me good players,” said Guardiola. “The rest doesn’t matter. The good players can adapt and adjust. We will adapt the movement or tactics or whatever things we say as managers for the quality of the players.
“And especially players that go to Anfield, go to Madrid, the Bernabeu, Barcelona, Camp Nou or wherever and say: ‘Okay, I’m going to play my best.’
“That is the difference. The top players have that. But we are not adjusting for the fact that we had a tough season.”
City are eyeing midfield reinforcement with AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders reportedly close to joining in a deal worth £46 million. The Dutch international ranked first in Serie A for passes that broke defensive lines (47), scored 10 goals from midfield, and frequently tested goalkeepers with 77 shots, posing the kind of direct, attacking threat Guardiola wants more of.
Wolves full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri is also on City’s radar. The Algerian registered 11 goal involvements – more than any other Premier League defender last season. He fits Guardiola’s profile of a modern, attacking full-back.
Alongside player additions, there’s a shake-up behind the scenes. Long-time assistants Juanma Lillo, Inigo Dominguez and set-piece coach Carlos Vicens have all departed. In their place, former Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders, most recently in charge at Red Bull Salzburg, is expected though not confirmed to join Guardiola’s backroom team.
“I’m going to lose people that I adore and they mean something, of course… but the new ones, younger people and new players, they always bring energy,” said Guardiola.
“I need energy for myself and people give me energy. You see the eyes, new faces, ‘I want to do it’, ‘I want to be there’, new little details in the training sessions. It’s new energy.”
But ultimately he downplayed the importance of more silverware in shaping his legacy at City.
“One Premier League more or less in my period at Manchester City is not going to change my life. It’s not going to change anything. But the people, the energy they bring is really good.”
