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Manchester City president Khaldoon Al Mubarak has shown that the club intends to provide reinforcements to the moving market while seeking to regain the Premier League name in Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola’s team has been unable to win three consecutive national titles in 2019-20, well below a dominant Liverpool, which finished 18 in front of second place, City.
The Ferran Torres winger and defence Nathan Ake have already arrived at Etihad Stadium from Valencia and Bournemouth respectively, for an expense of more than 60 million pounds.
Speaking to his club’s official website, Khaldoon said City would look for more and not limit himself to young players if what Guardiola needs is prepared and experienced interpreters.
“With regard to the two acquisitions we made, Ake and Ferran Torres, we acted temporarily and clearly,” he said. “Those were our goals and when the opportunity presented itself, we were going to interfere very temporarily and very temporarily and do this job.
“There are other players we’re going to incorporate and stick to the plan, in the realities of the market we’re in today.
“If you look at the acquisitions made in recent years, there is consistency in terms of the type of player you aim at: their age and quality.
“We will continue on this path for the first team in this category of 20-25 years. This is the kind of position we like.
“But, at the same time, opportunities arise that correspond to what the technician needs and what we want for the team that may be outside this area.
“Nothing is written in stone. We have a set of objectives that are well explained but, at the same time, we are pragmatic enough to seize the opportunity if this opportunity arises.”
Those words sound that the City is constantly connected to a 29-year-old Napoli Kalidou Koulibaly central defender movement, it might be a bit of an exaggeration to associate them with Lionel Messi, 33, and his obvious problems in Barcelona.
Guardiola has teamed up with other reinforcements in attack, in the centre and left-back as City a crusade that ended with his 3–1 3–1 loss in the Champions League quarter-finals against Lyon.
Khaldoon noted that his inability to make a good impression in the final stages of the tournament in Lisbon was a missed life opportunity.
“Pep and I have something that’s not unusual, or we hate wasting and we don’t take it lightly,” he said of the glory of the Champions League that continues to elude his club.
“At this point, we have the same point of disappointment. We had a chance this year, the same as the last two.
“When it comes to the Champions League, it’s a challenge. It comes down to two games or, this season, a game and you have to play.
“We are disappointed with this result because we knew it was a wonderful opportunity to move on to the semi-finals and a wonderful opportunity to win this competition.
“We want to take a look at this season, take the classes we’ve learned, get back to the drawing board and make sure we’re in a position next year to see some other opportunity.”