Our resident Manchester City fans in the Tavern have been raising their glasses in celebration after their club officially confirmed that current Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola will replace Manuel Pellegrini and take charge at the helm of the club at the end of the season.
With recent reports indicating that City will have around £250 million to splash in the summer, the number of City transfer rumours have dramatically increased, even after the mid-season deadline slammed shut.
The Blues are always linked to a whole host of the world’s finest talent, but the arrival of Guardiola will inevitably lead to links with the majority of his former players.
In this article, we will be outlining our top 5 players who could be reunited with Guardiola in the summer.
Hit Guardiola below to see FIVE former players he could bring to Man City this summer!
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David Alaba
One particular area that City need to sign players for is full-back. With all of the Blues’ full-backs aged 30 or over, Guardiola will be looking to recruit a talented young player who can make the position their own.
David Alaba would be the perfect player and the 23-year old recently admitted that the Premier League is ‘one of the best leagues in the world’.
The Austrian international is a mainstay in Guardiola’s Bayern Munich side and could potentially be persuaded to follow the Spanish coach from the Allianz to the Etihad.
Gerard Pique
Having spoken to some City fans over by the darts board, they believe that another area of need in terms of recruitment is at centre back, with Martin Demichelis expected to leave at the end of the season and Eliaquim Mangala struggling for form and fitness.
One potential candidate is Gerard Pique, who featured for Guardiola at his former side Barcelona and the 29-year old would bring some additional experience to City’s backline.
The Spanish international is a world class defender and is proven on all stages, having won the Champions League three times, as well as the World Cup and the European Championships with his country.
Thiago Alcantara
Thiago has been a staple in Guardiola’s spells at Barcelona and Bayern. He was promoted through the ranks at Barcelona under the Spanish coach and followed him to Munich.
The midfield is perfectly suited to Guardiola’s playing style, which utilises central midfielders who are able to dictate the game from deep and get involved with attacks.
Our landlord believes that the Spanish midfielder has plenty to offer and at 24 years of age, he could potentially be a long-term player for City.
Robert Lewandowski
With Manchester City having allowed Edin Dzeko, Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic all to leave in the summer, they brought in Wilfried Bony and youngster Kelechi Iheanacho.
Whilst the latter has left City fans by the bar purring when given the chance, Bony has struggled to win over our resident Manchester City fans, who would not be sad to see him leave if it meant brining in a world class replacement.
One such replacement could possibly be Robert Lewandowski, who is currently plying his trade for Guardiola at Bayern.
The 27-year old is reportedly interesting Real Madrid too, but City are said to be willing to pay up to £75 million in order to capture the Polish forward’s signature.
Lionel Messi
Perhaps the most unlikely transfer, but also the most exciting, would be that of Lionel Messi. The 5 time Ballon d’Or winner is widely regarded around the Transfer Tavern as being the best player in world footballer at present.
With City striving to achieve Champions League glory, the acquisition of Messi would certainly be a big step towards achieving such a feat and would leave the City fans on the fruit machines feeling like they have won the jackpot.
Perhaps the relationship of the Argentine with coach Guardiola, and his close friend, compatriot and international strike partner Sergio Aguero could convince the 28-year old to finally leave the Nou Camp and move to the Etihad.
