When the rumors about Pep Guardiola going to Manchester City started to sprout up a few weeks ago, Cules were given the opportunity to consider how their former manager’s move to England could affect Barcelona. While Guardiola’s impact on potentially signing Lionel Messi, finally leading Manchester City to victory against Barcelona in the Champions League and snatching up some of La Masia’s youngsters has already been documented here, it seems that the summer transfer window will be the first real opportunity for the new Man City man to punish his old club.
When looking up and down Manchester City’s roster there doesn’t appear to be a great deal of players that fit Guardiola’s style. Although Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben weren’t necessarily his type of players either, the Catalan was able to use their skills to complement Robert Lewandowski, a prototypical forward in the center of the attack.
City’s problems begin with the defense and seemly go straight through the spine of the team. While it is only conjecture, there is a growing consensus amongst the media about which players will likely thrive and which players for City will falter.
In the attack, Sergio Aguero is a no-brainer to succeed under Guardiola. With his likenesses to Messi, the new manager may be able to somehow take the Argentine to an even higher level. Aguero’s success, however, is all based on his health, and Guardiola’s pressing style may not be favorable for the Argentinean's unceasing muscle issues.
David Silva is another player who should keep his place in City's starting XI, as his comparisons to midfield players currently plying their trade at Barcelona make him the prime candidate for being the lynchpin of any year one success for Guardiola.
Samir Nasri and Kevin De Bruyne should fit nicely when they recover to full fitness, and Raheem Sterling and Kelechi Iheanacho are two young players that Guardiola will hope not only adapt to his style, but can thrive in it. Wilfried Bony is a wild-card, but will most likely need to find playing time elsewhere.
The center of defense is the other area where Guardiola may not need to do much work in the transfer market. Bringing Vincent Kompany back next season healthy, along with Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala in reserve is a good place to start, and any additions would only enhance the competition.
While Joe Hart is not Manuel Neuer, he is still a world-class keeper and it should be assumed that Guardiola would like to keep him between the posts for at least his first season in charge as a veteran voice at the back along with Kompany.
Nevertheless, the center of the park and the outside backs is where the speculation lies. Guardiola will need to get accustomed to preparing his team for the physical rigors of the Premiere League, an adjustment easier said than done. Of Yaya Toure, who is most likely to leave before the new manager ever arrives, Fabian Delph, Fernandinho and Fernando, it is anyone’s guess which players will remain on the Manchester books and will fit into Guardiola’s plans.
Likewise, the quartet at the back of Gael Clichy, Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna and Aleksandar Kolarov, all four of which are over 30 years old, may need to prepare for their next move if, as expected, they are not wanted at the Etihad next season.
All of the uncertainty with the roster coupled with a reported €200 million transfer budget is what may trouble Barcelona and Bayern Munich. As previously seen with Thiago Alcantara, Guardiola is not afraid to poach his former teams for talent, and the largest budget that he has ever had to work with will mean that he can take liberties with his wish list.
While poaching Barcelona for the likes of Messi or Neymar will be difficult, Claudio Bravo, who has already been linked as a target, or someone like Sergi Roberto would be much more plausible. Bayern Munich would feel similar in that, while Thomas Muller or Manuel Neuer would be tough to pry away, the Austrian David Alaba, another player already linked as a target, may be a little easier to capture. Lewandowski’s transfer road appears to run through Madrid, but City snagging the Polish striker could severely tip the balance of power in the Champions League.
More realistically, however, sporting director Txiki Begiristain and Guardiola could foil Barcelona’s summer plans. Some of the other players that have now been linked with Guardiola’s new City are Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte, Everton’s John Stones, Paris Saint Germain’s Marco Verratti and Juventus’ coveted Paul Pogba. These four players are also known to be wanted by Barcelona, particularly Pogba, who has been heavily rumored with every club in the world that can pay his €80 million transfer fee.
Pep Guardiola is facing a challenge at City that he has not known before. He is inheriting the least talented first team squad that he had so far, though to be fair the other two were Barcelona with Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez and a Bayern Munich side coming off a Champions League trophy.
Barcelona may not have any reason to fear Pep's City side in the short-term, and most Cules still root for Guardiola to succeed due to his contributions in Catalunya as a player and coach.
Nevertheless, Barcelona fans should keep a close eye on their former manager during the summer transfer window. He may not be able to overtake Barcelona next year, but signing their most sought-after transfer targets could lead to a new threat down the road.
