Guardiola confident Man City recruits will help trophies return

Pep Guardiola is confident that new signings and coaching additions will breathe new life into Manchester City after a disappointing campaign.

The Citizens' run of four successive Premier League titles came to an end in 2024-25, with Arne Slot, in his first season in England, leading Liverpool to glory. 

City finished 13 points behind Liverpool but managed to salvage a Champions League spot despite a run of one win in nine league matches across November and December.

Guardiola's team lost nine Premier League games last season, their joint-most in a single campaign under Guardiola (also nine in 2019-20). 

They also failed to score in six top-flight games last term, their most in a single Premier League campaign since 2015-16 under Manuel Pellegrini (eight). 

As a result, a series of changes at the club are taking place, headlined by Kevin De Bruyne's exit, as they look to rebuild and go again next term. 

"Always the same: Give me good players," Guardiola said in an exclusive interview with ESPN when asked what additions City need in the upcoming transfer window. 

"The rest, it doesn't matter. The good players can adapt and adjust. We will adapt the movement or tactics or whatever things we say as managers for the quality of the players.

"And especially [give me] players that go to Anfield, go to [Real] Madrid, the Bernabeu, Barcelona, Camp Nou or wherever and say: 'Okay, I'm going to play my best.'

"That is the difference, the top players have that. But we are not adjusting for the fact that we [had a tough season].

"If we win, I don't have to adjust anything? That is a mistake. When you win, you also have to adjust things.

"Day by day, game by game, week by week [you adjust]. Of course we are going to adjust some things, but not for the fact that we just won the Community Shield."

Reports have suggested that City are closing in on the signing of AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, who is expected to command a fee of more than £55million. 

Reijnders broke the opposition's defensive line with a pass more times (47) than any other player in Serie A in the 2024-25 season, while representing an underperforming Milan side. 

He also ranked seventh for the number of times he broke the opposition's midfield line (147), while only Napoli's Scott McTominay (12) scored more goals from central midfield than Reijnders (10). 

His total of 77 shots, the 10th most of all players in Serie A, showed just how often he gets into a position to threaten the opposition goal, something Guardiola has cited as an area of improvement for his team. 

Wolves full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri has also been of interest to City, with the Algerian impressing for Vitor Pereira's team. 

Indeed, Ait-Nouri notched 11 goal involvements (four goals, seven assists), more than any other defender in the Premier League in 2024-25. 

There are also changes to Guardiola's coaching staff, with assistants Juanma Lilo and Inigo Dominguez, along with set-piece coach Carlos Vicens, all departing this summer. 

Pep Lijnders, who was last in charge of Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg, is reportedly set to join Guardiola's backroom team, despite having been Jurgen Klopp's former assistant during his time with Liverpool. 

While Guardiola said he was sad to lose colleagues he has worked closely with, he believes additions to the playing and coaching staff will give him and his team new energy to compete for trophies next season. 

"I'm going to lose people that I adore and they mean something, of course, but it happened in the past with many people," he added.

"In 15 years, a lot left, everyone cheated on me! But the new ones, younger people and new players, they always bring this energy and this energy revitalises a lot.

"I need energy for myself and people give me energy. You see the eyes, new faces, 'I want to do it,' 'I want to be there,' new little details in the training sessions. It's new energy.

"Because energy for itself, the energy is one Premier League more, one Champions League more or one Community Shield more? It's not.

"It's not going to change my life one Premier League more or less in my period at Man City, it's not going to change anything.

"But the [new] people, they give you that [energy] day by day the people. That is the reason why changing players and staff is really good."