Manchester City Will Be a Frightening Prospect When Pep Guardiola Spends Again

It’s been a bold summer for Manchester City. Not only have they landed the world’s most coveted manager, beating off competition from top clubs across Europe, but they’ve also given their squad a significant face-lift.

Whereas City have been accused of lacking ambition in recent transfer windows, Txiki Begiristain, the club’s sporting director, changed tack in the summer. Buoyed by new boss Pep Guardiola’s pulling power, he aimed higher, and City look far better for it.

John Stones and Nolito have already given City additional quality, and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, despite a difficult debut against Manchester United on Saturday, will have a huge impact on the way City play. Once Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane are bedded in, City will have a new and improved look.

Promising young players, procured from around the world, have also joined the club, their immediate development being overseen elsewhere. City were accused of having an aging squad last season, but they now have a group of young players who could form the heart of the team over the coming years. Stones, Kelechi Iheanacho, Sane, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Marlos Moreno are all 22 and under—the club’s future looks assured.

But they are far from the finished article.

Seven wins from seven games represents an impressive start—the best from any manager in the club’s history—but Guardiola believes his side is way short of the required level.

“Of course, we are so happy for the results, for the numbers and the way we’re playing after two months,” he said.  “But it is not enough to win the Premier League or achieve the big, big targets in the Champions League.”

There have been clear improvements already—City are pressing harder, running farther, passing quicker and generally playing with more verve and vigour—but Guardiola needs at least another summer transfer window to shape the squad the way he wants it.

Too much change in one window can be detrimental. There’s a limit to how many additions a club ideally wants to make. City haven’t ticked off every area that needs strengthening, and they will make another round of transfers next season.

Most obviously, they need to refresh the full-back area. Guardiola is demanding of his full-backs, both tactically and physically. Gael Clichy, Aleksandar …

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