Hugo Viana looks to have another busy week ahead at Manchester City
Hugo Viana looks to have another busy week ahead at Manchester City
Not for the first time this week, Hugo Viana has been reminded that leading Manchester City's recruitment is not as straightforward as it may seem. The rewards for getting it right are among the biggest in the business, but so are the risks.
Monday brought news that plans to sign Florian Wirtz have been shelved amid concerns over the price of the deal. Bayern Munich have been confident for weeks that they would get the Bayer Leverkusen star and there was confusion around their trip to the UK last week.
Tuesday saw Kevin De Bruyne's farewell followed by Pep Guardiola saying that he has made it clear he doesn't want a bigger squad next season because he doesn't like having to leave players out of it.
This is not just one or two either, but potentially closer to ten players that will have to leave if that is the case to accommodate the three or four new faces that are set to add to the January arrivals.
Something big will have to give, and as Viana takes over from Txiki Begiristain after the Club World Cup he is going to have to find a path that keeps the manager happy without compromising the quality of the squad. In doing so, Viana will have to decide which of those matters more.
Keeping Guardiola has been the priority for City ever since he walked through the door, and it is testament to the environment that they have built around him that he will enter his tenth season in charge in August. He is still backed as the best possible coach they could have, so the idea of him being seriously unhappy is alarming.
At the same time, he was wrong last summer about the squad. He said that no rebuild was necessary and the events that have followed, however unfortunate, have drastically proven him wrong.
As much as the revival in recent months has not been led by the spending in January, without that reinforcement it is difficult to see how City would have stayed in the Champions League places.
Nico Gonzalez starred in a key win over Newcastle and Abdukodir Khusanov was important at Tottenham even before Omar Marmoush filled in for Erling Haaland.
It does feel as though City's injury situation is unlikely to be as bad as it has been this year, although they are entering unprecedented territory as they squeeze the Club World Cup into their summer to add to the player workloads before the season has already begun. That is not how the club and their performance team like to operate.
If City want to start competing for the Premier League and Champions League again, it would be dangerous to risk another small squad however much the manager wants that. It should be said as well that Tuesday's comments directly contradicted the coach earlier in the season, when he admitted that a bigger squad would be necessary.
As much as Guardiola hasn't always had what he wants - there have been numerous transfer targets over the years that have been vetoed for various reasons - it is also risky to force a manager as successful as they have to change the way he operates.
Whichever path Viana chooses as he looks to get everybody on the same track, he will have to hope it looks more straightforward than it currently feels.
---
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
*And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.*