Pep Guardiola has said that new signings and staff will inject fresh energy into Manchester City next season after a disappointing campaign, joking his request for the summer is simply to “give me good players.”
City’s run of four successive Premier League titles ended as they finished third, 13 points behind champions Liverpool, in a year which saw them fail to win a major trophy.
As a result, there will be a series of changes at the club in the off-season, headlined by Kevin De Bruyne’s exit, as they look to rebuild and go again next year.
Asked which additions he feels the team needs during the transfer window, Guardiola, speaking in his role as an investor in Monarka Clinic, a medical centre focused on personalised healthcare, told ESPN: “Always the same: Give me good players.
“The rest, it 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 [give me] players that go to Anfield, go to [Real] Madrid, the Bernabéu, Barcelona, Camp Nou or wherever and say: ‘OK, 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]. If we win, I don’t have to adjust anything? That is a mistake. When you win, you also have to adjust things.
“Day by day, game by game, week by week [you adjust]. Of course we are going to adjust some things, but not for the fact that we just won the Community Shield.”
ESPN has reported that City have agreed a deal worth €55 million ($62m) with AC Milan for midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, while Wolves full-back Rayan Aït-Nouri is another target.
There will also be extensive changes to Guardiola’s coaching staff this summer, with his assistants Juanma Lilo and Íñigo Domínguez both set to depart along with set-piece coach Carlos Vicens, who has agreed to become head coach of Portuguese side Braga.
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