Creating Pep Guardiola's 2016 Summer Blueprint for Manchester City
Those who believe Pep Guardiola only takes on the easy jobs with squads ready-made for success need to re-evaluate their position. The Catalan will officially take over at Manchester City on July 1, charged with turning them into a side capable of consistent domestic and European success. It won't be easy.
He will be inheriting a squad with plenty of quality. Sergio Aguero is a lethal, often unstoppable striker, and Kevin De Bruyne is on the cusp of becoming one Europe’s most coveted attacking midfielders.
David Silva has plenty to offer if he can get over his persistent ankle problems, and Fernandinho is perhaps the team’s most dynamic and consistent performer. If Vincent Kompany can ever shake his propensity for muscle injuries, City will once again have the best defender in the Premier League and one of the best in the world.
But there are also some serious holes in the City squad. It’s tired and ageing. The core of the squad that has brought the club huge success since winning the 2011 FA Cup has come to a natural end. City need additional pace and quality, as well as at least one world-class signing, to reignite them.
Guardiola, an intense student of the game, will be in no doubt about the scale of the task facing him. City have been on an 18-month slide under Manuel Pellegrini. Yes, they possess players of wonderful quality, but this is a squad in need of fresh tactical ideas and a new direction. Guardiola, the City board hopes, will offer them what they need.
His approach is likely to be threefold. He needs to make signings that change the dynamic of the team while at the same time letting the right players go. He needs to improve the performance level of those who remain. And he needs to quickly assess the club’s academy and decide which youngsters can supplement his first-team squad.
1. Transfer Activity
Guardiola encourages a particular style of football. His teams like to dominate possession. They play with real intensity, moving the ball at speed. The aim is to overwhelm the opposition—to make them feel as though they cannot compete.
It’s a blueprint that has worked superbly. Guardiola has amassed 21 trophies as a manager. In his seven combined seasons in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he’s won six titles and two Champions Leagues. It’s a remarkable record, delivered in style, that justifies his approach and ideas.
To play the way he wants requires a certain type of player. He wants players with energy who cherish the ball, who can spot a pass and have the technical quality to find a team-mate. He wants players who are tactically flexible and intelligent. At City, he may find a deficit in those areas.
He will want to overhaul the midfield, with pass-masters like Ilkay Gundogan, Toni Kroos and Thiago Alcantara the type he will target. Defenders comfortable starting attacks is another prerequisite, as well as pace in wide areas, both in the full-back positions and further forward.
He will have a list of targets in mind, which has likely been submitted to sporting director Txiki Begiristain already. Begiristain, who worked with Guardiola at Barcelona, will be working desperately to bring them in quickly to ensure Guardiola has as much time as possible to begin transmitting his ideas and preparing his squad for the new season.
He could recoup some significant money too. Aleksandar Kolarov, Pablo Zabaleta, Yaya Toure, Fernando, Wilfried Bony, Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi could all be sacrificed. Making too many changes in one window is dangerous—but there is plenty of room for Guardiola to manoeuvre.
2. Improving the Current Players
Guardiola is known for getting the best out of the players he works with. His record tells us it’s a given that most of those under his command improve and find their best form. City have a number of players whose game could be raised significantly, having played beneath themselves for most of last season.
There’s likely to be an improvement in every single player. Even Aguero, who scored 29 goals last season, was lacking in the Champions League, and Guardiola will be looking to find a solution to that particular problem. Raheem Sterling was lacking confidence during the second half of the season and underwhelmed, but he has the kinds of qualities Guardiola will appreciate. Samir Nasri, too, is a midfielder whose potential has never been fulfilled.
Guardiola also has a habit of moving players into seemingly unfamiliar positions and watching them flourish. He did it with Javier Mascherano and Javi Martinez, and there are likely to be players in the City squad he has similar in mind. Fernandinho, for example, would be a prime candidate to play centre-back in a three-man defence.
Guardiola's backroom team will be key. He’s worked with personal assistant Manuel Estiarte, assistant coach Domenec Torrent, fitness coach Lorenzo Buenaventura and scout and video analyst Carles Planchart at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and he trusts their ability to deliver.
3. Academy Prospects
City have an ever-improving youth setup. The City Football Academy, opened in December 2014 at the cost of £200 million, is beginning to produce. It will take time for it to fully realise the dreams of City's leadership, but the results and the quality of its players show a clear upward trajectory.
Guardiola values youth. His record shows if you're good enough and he sees within you the right qualities, you will be given a chance. City's academy players will be excited he is set to arrive.
He may not find players absolutely ready for regular first-team action, but he will certainly find young players who can augment his options.
Jason Denayer will return from his loan spell in Galatasaray via Euro 2016 with Belgium, and he will surely play a part. Manu Garcia is an extremely talented midfielder who can recycle possession superbly. Guardiola will like both.
Then there's Bersant Celina, Aleix Garcia and Tosin Adarabioyo, all of whom look capable of big things.
But perhaps the jewel in the City academy's crown is 16-year-old Brahim Diaz. He is too young and slight to play week in and week out at present, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he got a couple of games next season to show what he is capable of.
Guardiola agreeing to join City was the most significant moment for the club since the takeover by Sheikh Mansour back in 2008. It’s redrawn the European landscape and helped bridge the gap between City and Europe’s elite. Players will want to work with him, meaning City, who have plenty of money thanks to their increased commercial activity and the improved Premier League TV deal, can realistically challenge for any player in world football.
No one is certain to bring success, and Guardiola, at some stage in his career, will surely be sacked like all managers are, but he offers as close to a guarantee of silverware as is possible.
Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2015/16 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard_.
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