Man City's dream XI for next season with £46m deal agreed and PL duo signed

Pep Guardiola will need a handful of new signings if he wants his Manchester City team to challenge Liverpool again for the Premier League title after finishing third and suffering a trophyless season

Manchester City have a chance to put their difficult season behind them when the 2025-26 campaign comes around and boss Pep Guardiola will know he'll need reinforcements if his side are to challenge Liverpool for the title. City finished third last season and completed only their second campaign without silverware under the Spaniard.

Guardiola will be eager to ensure he doesn't go another year without lifting a trophy but to do that there are a number of positions that need strengthening.

City's main priority is to find a replacement for the departing Kevin De Bruyne in the No 10 role. They were chasing a move for Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz but Liverpool and Bayern Munich have moved ahead of them as favourites to sign the playmaker.

The club will also need more options in defence after having problems at full-back on either flank, while a new midfielder will be required as they seek long-term replacements for Ilkay Gundogan and Mateo Kovacic.

So, how will Manchester City's starting XI shape up if they manage to sign all their targets? Mirror Football has taken a look.

Ederson remains Guardiola's No 1 choice in goal, despite being dropped for a handful of games last season over some poor displays during the team's rotten run of 11 games without a win.

Guardiola desperately needs new full backs and City have been linked with Newcastle's Tino Livramento, of whom they are big admirers, after a superb season under Eddie Howe. Guardiola was forced to field Matheus Nunes out of position at right-back after Kyle Walker moved to AC Milan and a big-money push to prise Livramento out of Newcastle isn't being discounted.

While he often chops and changes his starting centre-back partnership, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol should form the ideal pairing while a new player on the left flank will also be needed.

Youngster Nico O'Reilly filled in there admirably last season but Wolves star Rayan Ait-Nouri is top of his list to solve the dilemma, with the two clubs now in talks over a potential fee for the Algeria international.

In midfield, Guardiola should welcome back Ballon d'Or winner Rodri after his long term ACL injury and after announcing the £46m signing of AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders, he should slot in alongside the Spain international.

While he has Omar Marmoush at his disposal, Guardiola will need another player who can play at No.10 after De Bruyne's departure. That player could be Lyon's Rayan Cherki after reports from France that a move for the playmaker is "accelerating".

Cherki, who managed 12 goals and 19 assists last season, has a release clause of £25m - a bargain for such a talented player and talks are said to be advancing, with City agreeing personal terms already.

Either side of Cherki, Guardiola could play Savinho on the right wing and Jeremy Doku on the left. Jack Grealish is not in the manager's long-term plans and on his way out, while the club will hope that Phil Foden can get back to his best in 2025-26; the England international will be given time to get himself right.

Bernardo Silva is also in the mix of course, while Marmoush may at times have to operate from out wide to force his way into the line-up; he's an alternative to Doku down the left with his ability to cut inside from deep and fire shots from distance.

Then, of course, there is Erling Haaland up front.

Potential Manchester City XI: Ederson; Livramento, Dias, Akanji, Ait-Nouri; Reijnders, Rodri; Savinho, Cherki, Doku; Haaland