Pep Guardiola set to splash £300m transfer budget on six major signings – report – City Watch
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been handed a £300m transfer war chest to complete an overhaul of his squad this summer, according to the Manchester Evening News.
City’s summer spending began on Friday with the arrival of Bernardo Silva from Monaco for a reported fee of £43m and is set to see five more major arrivals at the Etihad.
Manchester Evening News understand that the signing of Silva has not brought an end to City’s interest in Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez, despite maintaining that they want Sergio Aguero to remain at the club.
Two full-backs will also be recruited, most likely to be in the form of Tottenham’s Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy of Monaco, while a centre-back is on Guardiola’s wishlist after increased speculation over Nicolas Otamendi’s future. The Spaniard is likely to try and convince one of Leonardo Bonucci and Virgil Van Dijk to join him in Manchester.
Following the departure of Willy Caballero, Guardiola is looking to dip into the market for a goalkeeper. Ederson, Jordan Pickford, and Jack Butland have all reportedly been scouted by City this season.
The final piece to Guardiola’s jigsaw is thought to be a world-class holding midfielder, with the versatile Fabinho and Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho the two main targets.
While the names that will actually move to the Etihad remain unknown, the one certainty is that the recruitment of highly-rated Silva is not even close to being the end of City’s transfer plans.