Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admits making huge £78m transfer error 

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admits making huge £78m transfer error

 

Manchester City star Mateo Kovacic warming up alongside Jeremy Doku, inset bottom left. Manchest…

 

Back in the summer of 2024, if someone had told you that Pep Guardiola would be under pressure at Manchester City heading into the 2025/26 season you would have laughed in their face.

 

Air Conditioners Without External Unit (Click To See Prices)

Air Conditioner | Search Ads

by TaboolaSponsored Links

The simple fact of the matter now though is that the spotlight is indeed shining squarely on Pep Guardiola.

 

Manchester City have fallen off a cliff this season, with qualification for the Champions League next term nowhere near guaranteed.

 

And that clearly needs to happen at The Etihad, if City are going to re-establish themselves as the best in the business.

 

I don’t get sick because I clean my blood vessels. Write down the recipe

Cardizoom

by TaboolaSponsored Links

The Man City manager has so much work to do, with numerous top-class signings required in pretty much every single department of the pitch.

 

However, he needs to sell numerous players who have failed to live up to expectations at the Etihad as well.

 

Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes Manchester City errors laid bare

Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes arrived at the Etihad in the summer of 2023.

 

And despite the fact that those two players joined City nearly two years ago, it now seems like the additions of the Croatian and the Portuguese were the catalyst for City’s downfall.

 

 

Pep got complacent with his recruitment in the summer of 2023.

 

Nunes, 26, joined Man City from Wolves in a £53 million deal (Sky Sports).

 

Meanwhile, Kovacic, 30, arrived from Chelsea for around £25 million (BBC).

 

 

Man City splashing out a combined transfer fee of £78 million for those two players could well be pinpointed as the moment where the rot really set in at The Etihad.

 

Both players have failed to take City to the next level.

 

Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images

Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images

Nunes simply isn’t at the required level to make a difference for Manchester City when it really matters.

 

Why Kovacic and Nunes are bad fits for Man City

The former Wolves man has bagged just three goals in 59 games for City (Transfermarkt), and has never established himself as a regular starter under Pep.

 

Meanwhile, Kovacic is a solid player, but he’s not good enough to play for Man City. His passing is far too safe, and he lacks the ability to really progress the ball.

 

Also, his lack of ball carrying ability has led to a dynamism deficiency in central midfield for City.

 

Just 44 ball carries in 24 Premier League games for Kovacic tells its own story (FBREF).

 

The Croatian is a good player, there’s no arguing that. However, he cannot be a part of Pep’s plans next season, if City are to dominate again, and the same can be said for Nunes.

 

Pep Guardiola needs to make two big upgrades on Manchester City duo Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes this summer.