Pep Guardiola has instructed the Manchester City hierarchy to begin cleaning house ahead of his arrival in the Premier League this summer.
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Among others that will surely be sold as well, Man City stars Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany, Wilfried Bony, Eliaquim Mangala, Aleksandar Kolarov and Samir Nasri are all up for sale and to be sold at Guardiola’s behest, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
Toure and Kompany are without a doubt the most the most surprising of the six listed above — their 14 years of combined service to the club make them far and away two of City’s longest tenured and most central figures — but the former’s rocky history with Guardiola from their days at Barcelona, and the latter’s chronic and debilitating injury history, have long left their City futures well and truly in doubt, even before Guardiola’s arrival was announced last month.
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Bony, the big, strong, powerful center forward, seems simply a poor fit for Guardiola’s possession-based system, which often bypasses a center forward altogether in favor of another attacking midfielder in the shape of a false-nine — Sergio Aguero will certainly give him something to think about there. Few City fans will be up in arms if/when any of the other three are moved along this summer.
$176 million: the combined fees paid for the six players Guardiola has reported instructed his soon-to-be employers to sell. A number of top players have already been linked with moves to the Etihad Stadium since Guardiola’s appointment was confirmed, so for every player that heads for the exit door this summer, there will be one (or two) new ones walking through the entrance.
