Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has promised “high-quality” signings this summer after admitting the team failed to met expectations last season.
City mounted an underwhelming defence of the Premier League title, flopped in both domestic cup competitions and was knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage by Barcelona.
Speaking in an interview with City TV Khaldoon said:
“We have a great nucleus here and we want to preserve this nucleus — but at the same time we want to go the next level.
“We want a squad that is able and has the capability and quality to win the Premier League, compete and win the Champions League, compete and be able to go all the way in two cup competitions in England.
“I think you will see some changes. You will see some players who have served us well and maybe it is time for them to move to their next challenge, and you will see us in the market bringing high-quality individuals that fit within what we are aspiring to coming in this summer.
“I can assure you the squad will be stronger, the team will be more competitive. I am both confident and excited about what is coming next year.
“I want the disappointment of last year behind me, behind us all. We have all turned the page. The energy right now is positive, the energy towards getting back on track, winning that Premier League and getting a better performance in the Champions League. This is absolutely what is driving all of us right now.”
While City have been heavily linked with big money moves for the likes of Wolfsburg midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, Juventus star Paul Pogba and Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling, Khaldoon insisted that there will be no return to the heavy spending that characterised the early years of the sheikh’s ownership following his 2008 takeover.
“We have gone from a club that was making promises of a future from a very low standpoint and therefore struggling to attract the quality of the players we would have aspired to. We were at a point having to pay big premiums in order to attract the type of players we wanted to attract.
“Today I think we are in a different position. We are a club players want to come and play for. We are an institution today.
“We can compete head to head with all the top clubs and players look at the track record of Manchester City over the last couple of years, look at the City Football Academy, the facilities we have, the infrastructure we have, look at the people we have in terms of management and coaches, look at the environment we have created here in Manchester. We have a very attractive proposition.”
While the likes of de Bruyne and Pogba generate the headlines, that is not who City need to but this summer. They already have 17 foreign players in their squad, the maximum they can have. So to add a de Bruyne or Pogba they will have to sell a none English player.
The problem is home-grown players. City need seven home-grown players and they currently have only two, meaning they need to sign at least five home-grown players this summer before they can begin to look at buying another European player.
Sterling from Liverpool would be a goos sign, but they will still need four more.
