There has been an obvious drive over the summer to futureproof the Manchester City squad, with Jeremy Doku becoming the latest star to commit to a new five-year contract.
Doku joins Josko Gvardiol, Phil Foden and Abdukodir Khusanov in agreeing fresh terms over the past fortnight, the quartet seen as integral to the new era of City. A City without Pep Guardiola and a City without so many of the stalwarts synonymous with rampant success.
Gvardiol and Doku, two of last season’s standout performers, are still only 24 (Foden is 26, Khusanov 22) and the hope is that the pair are the sort of figures who will provide a cornerstone to an evolving team and club.
Clearly, director of football Hugo Viana and new boss Enzo Maresca have identified the men they believe can step into the shoes of Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and more than a few others in exacting standards and taking on the responsibility of delivering consistent trophies.
It is difficult to think of too many harder jobs in elite football than that right now, especially if Rodri secures a move back to Spain, with Barcelona now rivalling Real Madrid for his signature.
A departure of a midfielder crowned the best player at the World Cup would leave City’s four-man leadership group cut in half in recent months and points to the lack of real experience – something Maresca addressed earlier in the stifling week in Seoul.
Jeremy Doku (left) has become the latest Manchester City star to commit to a new five-year contract
Defender Josko Gvardiol has also agreed fresh terms, and is a key part of the City rebuild under Enzo Maresca
Rodri will leave very large boots to fill should he leave for Barcelona or Real Madrid
Gvardiol and Foden have both publicly raised their hands to take roles in the captaincy team and there is jostling behind the scenes between players who want to make their mark under a fresh regime – one that ought to offer some of them renewed energy.
Nico Gonzalez, who failed to start a single league game between January and May, insisted that he is one of them.
‘I’m happy here,’ said Gonzalez, who joined for £50million 18 months ago. ‘I don’t want to leave and I think the club wants me to stay. If we win, I’m happy. My dream is to win trophies.
‘If I don’t play any matches and we win the Champions League next year, I will be so happy. The final of the FA Cup I was not picked but we won so it was an amazing day for me. To be honest, last season I couldn’t have expected to have played almost 30 matches in the starting XI. I played really good. I’ve had many opportunities.’
Gonzalez – who didn’t even make the bench for that FA Cup final he referenced – does have his price but it has become clearer in recent days that Tijjani Reijnders is more likely to exit the building before the window closes. Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United are monitoring the Dutchman, valued at £55million.
Be it Rodri or Reijnders or both, City sources have indicated that they are ready to replace any potential outgoings. The pursuit of Ayyoub Bouaddi, a breakout talent at the World Cup with Morocco, is a separate entity and they are pressing ahead with negotiations with Lille regardless of movements in the other direction.
They had accelerated the rebuild in January, spending £85million on Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi, with the two signings from Bournemouth and Crystal Palace embedded into the squad then rather than now – which ought to represent something of an advantage moving forward.
Semenyo contributed to two trophy wins – scoring the FA Cup-winning goal over Chelsea – while Guehi was ineligible to feature in the Carabao Cup final, a decision that riled Guardiola.
Nico Gonzalez insists he is happy at City despite failing to start a league game between January and May
City are pressing ahead with negotiations with Lille for Moroccan midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi (right)
But Tijjani Reijnders could be on the way out amid interest from Nottingham Forest and Newcastle
City believe the strategy of doing those deals six months early, and supplementing it by breaking their transfer record with £116million Elliot Anderson once Maresca assumed the post, will reap its rewards.
‘I don’t think any player has the position guaranteed for all the matches,’ Gonzalez added. ‘We are one of the best teams in the world and obviously there is competition in every position. That is what makes us be in the position that we are, winning so many Premier Leagues and competing for everything.’
Gonzalez is talking about a different squad though. He’s never won a title. Only five of this group were around for the Treble, revealing quite how much rebuilding has gone on in the three seasons since.
City have spent much of the last two years planning for this moment, for life after Guardiola, and now the time has come to determine how meticulous that has been.
