Manchester City Round-Up: Guardiola plans to axe eleven; Wenger rules out Hart move; Norwegian midfielder ready for summer move

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According to reports in The Sun this morning, Pep Guardiola is set to spend around £200 million in the upcoming transfer window as he seeks to rebuild his squad into title challengers.

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The report alleges that the Spanish boss is also ready to axe up to eleven Manchester City players to make way for the incoming signings, as he looks set to out-spend the £174 million from last summer.

An unnamed source close to the Etihad said:

“Pep hasn’t even begun with his spending at the club yet, it is just the start.

“The club accepted they could not change the entire starting eleven in the close season.

“They wanted to give the veteran lads another chance and one last hurrah at giving it a go.

“Pep will be backed to the hilt and will have something around £200m to spend to achieve his aims and targets.”

It is believed that Yaya Toure and Joe Hart are the biggest names to face the exit door of the Etihad Stadium, with Jesus Navas, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta and Willy Caballero joining them on Guardiola’s supposed list of squad members who will not be offered a renewed contract.

Manchester City currently sit third in the Premier League table after a frustrating campaign so far.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has ruled out making a move for Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart over summer, claiming that he has no interest in taking on the England number one.

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The Mirror reports that Arsenal had been linked with a move for Hart after he’s endured a torrid time under Pep Guardiola, playing his football on loan at Italian side Torino this season instead.

Speaking yesterday, Wenger confirmed that he’s not looking at Hart. He said:

“I have three world-class goalkeepers and I am happy with what I have.”

First-choice goalkeeper Petr Cech has been struggling to find consistency with his performances this season, and at 34-years-old it was believed Wenger could look elsewhere – but he’s defended Cech.

“He was at fault on the third goal [against Chelsea] but overall I feel he has had a good season.”

Hart has been in Italy since September following a falling-out with Guardiola in pre-season and has kept five clean sheets to help Torino into the top half of a competitive Serie A.

With Hart set to leave the Etihad over the upcoming months, Manchester City look set to welcome someone into the club after Norwegian midfielder Ghayas Zahid is expected to arrive over summer.

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According to VG, a deal was agreed with the 22-year-old Valerenga man over the January window only for the deal to be postponed after City purposefully delayed the transfer.

The move now looks ready to be given the go-ahead for the end of the season, and speaking to VG about the transfer saga Zahid said:

“It seemed like I was going to join them, but they changed their minds two days before the transfer window closed.

“They prefer to wait until the summer.

“Of course I was disappointed, but that’s it. Now I will focus on the season and work hard for us to do well.”

Zhahid scored eight and assisted six times for Norwegian side Valerenga in Norway’s Premier League last season, catching the eye of European sides with his impressive ability on the ball.

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