Manchester City are hoping to celebrate the end of their European ban by tying manager Pep Guardiola to a new deal.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that City had not breached any Financial Fair Play regulations and therefore allowed Guardiola’s side to compete in the Champions League, with the Citizens fined ‘only’ €10m.
Now that the city knows what the future looks like, they are ready to rebuild. First, The Mirror have said they want to extend Guardiola’s stay at the Etihad Stadium, and hope his commitment to summer spending will help convince him to stay.
Man City’s Champions League ban has been lifted.
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— 90 Minutes (@90min_Football) July 13, 2020
Guardiola has just one year left on his contract and has often dodged questions about his future, but City are still keen to keep him and are eager to open talks in the near future.
They hope to sweeten the deal by offering him a powerful war chest this summer. The Guardian say City are ready to allow a £150m spending spree this summer to ensure the team can compete with title-winners Liverpool next season.
Bayern Munich defender David Alaba is on Guardiola’s wish list. 90 Minutes understands that City tried to include the Austrian in the deal that took Leroy Sané to the Allianz Arena, but despite failing to do so, Guardiola is still keen to sign him as he is both a left-back and centre-back. Want to strengthen. Multiple positions in which Alba is more than comfortable.
City try to add David Alaba to Leroy Sane deal/Alexander Heisenstein/Getty Images
However, Alba is not on the Telegraph’s shortlist. Instead, it is Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly who is said to be Guardiola’s top priority.
The Senegal international is joined on the radar by Leicester City’s Ben Chelwell and Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, the latter of whom is also wanted by cross-town rivals Manchester United. There is even mention of Tottenham Hotspur’s Jan Vertonghen, who is out of contract this summer and has been seen by some at the Etihad as a potentially shrewd signing.
Both a new striker and a new right-back are thought to be low on City’s list of priorities, but it is suggested that City would make the right move if the opportunity presented itself.
City leaders have long admired Nathan Ake/Steve Burdens/Getty Images.
To round out the list of targets, Athletic have added Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand, Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake, Valencia’s Ferran Torres, Bayern’s Kingsley Coman and Bayer Leverkusen’s Leon Bailey to the mix. Busy
What is clear is that City have some big plans for this summer. They are considering a number of potential deals and are set to move ‘with confidence’ this summer. Guardiola is tired of missing out on big targets, such as Harry Maguire and Jorginho to United and Chelsea respectively, so he wants City to step things up this summer.
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