With the transfer window now shut, we take a look at the Manchester City squad assembled by Pep Guardiola and grade how well he has done.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
At the end of the summer transfer window Pep Guardiola will be looking at his Manchester City squad with a smile, particularly after deadline day.
Whilst their main summer transfer dealings were completed with plenty of time to spare, deadline day was more about clearing some room than making last ditch attempts to bring players in.
We take a look back at City’s transfer over the summer and grade how well they’ve done.
Grade: A+
Guardiola’s arrival in Manchester came with a number of questions, most important of those was what changes would be made defensively. It was clear from the outset that changes would need to be made and as the summer dragged on, more apparent than what changes were needed were whether there was a place within his squad for Eliaquim Mangala.
Mangala has had a torrid time in Manchester, after arriving from Porto with such promise, and Guardiola decided he was not for him and swiftly moved to find a partner for club captain Vincent Kompany, with that partner being Everton’s John Stones.
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The signing of Stones for £47.5 million is one of the many standout transfers that City made over the summer. Guardiola saw that the squad needed an overhaul and set about by bringing in Ilkay Gundogan from Borussia Dortmund, Nolito from Celta Vigo, Leroy Sane from Schalke and Claudio Bravo from Barcelona, and these were just for starters.
While Stones, Gundogan, Bravo, Nolito and Sane are the star names, perhaps the most intriguing signings City made were the signing of teenagers Marlos Moreno from Atletico Nacional for £4.75 million, and the £27 million signing of Gabriel Jesus from Palmeiras. Moreno will spend the season on loan to Deportivo La Coruna, while Jesus will return to Palmeiras for the rest of the year. Brazilian Jesus comes with a huge reputation having starred for Brazil in their triumph at the Olympics in Rio.
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Yet it is their star signings that really set City’s transfer business apart from the competition. The signings of a Barcelona goalkeeper, two Bundesliga stars, a Spain international and the man regarded as one of England’s best prospects are a real statement of intent by Guardiola in his pursuit to win the Premier League.
The arrival of Bravo has all but ended Joe Hart’s Manchester City career, with Guardiola wanting a better footballing goalkeeper. Hart is now considered third choice at City and will see his game-time considerably restricted now that he has fallen behind Willy Caballero. Bravo comes in having been one of the two goalkeepers from Barcelona that it had been rumoured that City were interested in, with the other being Marc Andre Ter Stegen.
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But the most significant factor around the signings that Guardiola has made is that in every area the Spaniard has made improvements. Bravo is a more controlled and better footballing goalkeeper than Hart, Gundogan, Sane and Nolito have made dramatic improvements to City’s midfield and forward options, and in adding Moreno and Jesus to a forward line that already consists of Sergio Aguero and Kelechi Iheanacho, City now have an enviable forward line with undoubted promise to go alongside the prolific Argentine.
But where City have gone from a grade A- to an A+ is in their business on transfer deadline day. In the final hours of the summer window, Guardiola loaned out players he no longer considered in his plans. Hart left for Torino, Wilfried Bony departed for Swansea City, Samir Nasri joined Sevilla, and Mangala left for Valencia.
Guardiola and City both needed to offload a number of squad players and with these players no longer in their plans they saw their summer transfer activity finalised and will feel it was window they are particularly happy with.
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