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 …

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