Man City chief Ferran Soriano: Club ‘accelerated’ squad overhaul

Manchester City chief Ferran Soriano has admitted the club have “accelerated” their recruitment drive after a quiet summer transfer window a year ago played a part in a poor season for Pep Guardiola’s side.

City struggled last season after deciding against making wholesale changes to their squad following their record-setting four consecutive Premier League titles.

A run of poor run during the first half of the campaign prompted the club to sign Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov in January at a cost of £180 million ($241.67 million).

City have followed it up this summer by bringing Rayan Cherki, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Marcus Bettinelli for more than £100 million ($134.26 million).

“We are very happy, I’m happy with the work that we did,” said CEO Soriano.

“This is part of multi-annual planning. Last summer we only bought one new player but this year between the winter and the summer it will be eight new ones.

“It’s part of the annual cycle, the renewal of the squad. We accelerated some of it and now we are very happy with the squad we have.”

Sources have told ESPN that City and Guardiola have not ruled out more transfer activity this summer. The club are also looking to facilitate a number of exits for the likes of Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips.

“It’s part of the game,” added Soriano.

“We look for stability, the fact that Pep is going to be with us for 10 years shows that we are a stable club.

“But the squad needs to be renewed. It’s something that happens naturally.

“We’ve had fantastic players like Kevin De Bruyne who spent a decade with us. That’s a testament to his quality but also our stability.”

City kicked off their Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Moroccan side Wydad AC in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Next up is a clash with Al Ain in Atlanta and Soriano insists Guardiola and his players are targeting the trophy and the crown of world champions.

“We are very excited by it,” he said.

“I think it’s something that was very much needed, soccer is a global sport and we have to make it global.

“I think it’s a great initiative and we are very happy to be here.

“The ambition for City in any competition is to win it. That’s the status of the club.

“Obviously it’s not possible to win always so we want to go as far as we can. But the ambition of Manchester City always is to win.”