Guardiola will replace Mahrez and Bernardo perfectly – these are the major targets

John Sampson July 24, 2023

Man City’s best season in the club’s history saw the team winning the treble, but most importantly, their first Champions League. Pep Guardiola would love to have all the great players remaining on the roster, but some of them think that a new chapter might be ideal for them at this point in their career.

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Kovacic to fill Gundogan’s shoes

The first of them was the captain, Ilkay Gundogan, who won everything during his time in Manchester and left the club to move to Barcelona on a free transfer. The German midfielder has already been presented by the Spanish club, so the Citizens searched for a great replacement. This was Mateo Kovacic, who was transferred to Man City from Chelsea.

Barella is case Bernardo leaves the club

Bernardo Silva is another honourable mention, yet another valuable asset to Guardiola’s perfect goal-scoring machine. The team does everything it can to convince him to stay at Etihad, but his mind may be somewhere else. He too had a great spot in Barcelona’s transfer list, but his price is more than untouchable for the Blaugrana, who still face many financial problems. It is reported that PSG is more than willing to pay his £100 million price tag.

If Bernardo Silva is out of the project, the Citizens will move for Nicolo Barella, the 50-million-pounds-rated midfielder, who also drew interest from Liverpool and Newcastle. Barella is highly appreciated in the English camp, as Guardiola was impressed by his talents during the Champions League final.

Inter are reluctant to sell the 26-year-old midfielder though and could ask for more than £100 million for a player who has three years left on his current contract.

Raphinia convinced Guardiola

Riyad Mahrez also left the club (he moved to Saudi side Al Ahli for £20 million) so the Citizens have searched the market for an attacking midfielder. Barcelona’s Raphinia is the prodigal son, now that the La Liga champions are ready to listen to any offers regarding the talented Brazilian. The 26-year-old only joined Barcelona last summer, but his underwhelming performances never ceased to impress Xavi, who also thinks that the club needs to collect funds to sign more players.

Guardiola seems to know who his major targets are. He already signed Mateo Kovacic for a decent fee from Chelsea and now is ready to add more firepower to the roster amid a more exciting season.

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