Manchester City Set for Big Summer Spend to Overhaul Their Squad

According to a report by Paul Hetherington in the Daily Star, Manchester City are set to enact a major reconstruction of their squad this summer.

Hetherington suggests City are planning to spend £200 million in a bid to re-energise an ageing group of players after a season of regression at the Etihad.

Many of City’s best players are, in footballing terms, getting old. In his Telegraph column earlier in the season, former Manchester United defender Gary Neville highlighted the problem, calculating the average age of the squad as 28.9. It’s unsustainable and needs redressing.

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Many of the club’s regular performers are 29 and over, with Yaya Toure (31), David Silva (29), Fernandinho (29), Pablo Zabaleta (29) and Martin Demichelis (34) all considered to be at an age where their best years are perhaps behind them.

But with the club set to be free from financial fair play (FFP) restrictions after posting healthy figures during the last financial year, there could be big changes to the playing squad this summer. Their turnover reached a whopping £347 million and their losses now stand at just £23 million.

City will also have plenty of room to manoeuvre in the transfer market this summer given the high number of expected departures. Micah Richards and Alvaro Negredo’s exits will be confirmed, Scott Sinclair is likely to find a permanent home and Stevan Jovetic is surely on his way out after his Champions League omission. James Milner, too, looks set to depart with an agreement on a new deal with the club no closer to being finalised.  

That represents a significant reduction in City’s wage bill, freeing up space for new arrivals.

And it is looking increasingly clear Manuel Pellegrini will be the man to oversee this summer’s spend, in conjunction with Txiki Begiristain, the club’s sporting director, despite some reports of his job being under threat.

After losing at home to Barcelona and the subsequent loss to Liverpool at Anfield, pressure had built on Pellegrini, with suggestions he was set to be replaced in the summer.

However, despite losing to Barcelona again, this time at the Camp Nou, Pellegrini’s position appears to have been strengthened in the last 10 days. There are a lack of available alternatives this summer, and the club aren’t as keen as the media have suggested to replace Pellegrini, a point made by Henry Winter of The Telegraph in an interview for the Blue Moon Podcast this week.

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Add to that some bullish press conferences and a revealing interview with Sid Lowe of the Guardian, and his position appears to have consolidated, for now at least.

Pellegrini spoke candidly to Lowe about the need for the club to deliver a “crack,” a star player capable of adding world-class ability to the squad. City haven’t signed a player of the highest calibre during Pellegrini’s time in charge, and it seems the Chilean wants that to change this summer.

One “crack” the club are surely keen on is Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. He would bring energy and brilliance to the midfield and allow the club to let Toure leave. It would make a lot of sense. The problem City face is that Pogba is likely to be targeted by all the very best clubs across Europe, and beating them to his signature is far from guaranteed.

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They were heavily linked with Ross Barkley earlier in the season, via The Independent, but his deteriorating form may see their interest cool. However, the interest in him is a sign of the club’s transfer strategy—buying young, hungry, homegrown stars looks like being the order of the day.

However, the exact targets will remain unknown for some time, but it seems almost certain that after a summer of financial restrictions, City look set to make some serious changes to the make-up of their squad this time around.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.