Reports: Manchester City interested in three Paris Saint-Germain stars
In an interview with Rio Ferdinand, Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola was asked how he churns out a relentless hunger in his teams year after year.
The Spaniard placed things into perspective by counter questioning the interviewer, “How many Premier League titles have you won?”, to which, Ferdinand replied with “six.”
Guardiola then canvassed if the first team that he won the title with was even remotely like the last, and as Rio nodded in admiration of the point being made, Guardiola affirmed, “You must change, you have to shake. With the same guys, it’s almost impossible. We change. You have to move, me included.”
And that forms a base behind how and why Manchester City have won five Premierships in six years. If you’re not interested or anything less than 100%, you’re shown the door by Pep.
As the club seeks to bolster the squad to continue to challenge for titles and adapt with the times, the rumour mill has stirred up several links with Paris Saint-Germain players to the Etihad stadium.
Below, we summarize the recent speculations surrounding Manchester City’s attempts to raid the French giants.
Guardiola personally ‘makes contact’ with Neymar
French outlet L’Equipe have unearthed Guardiola’s desire to team up with Neymar at Man City, so much that the former Barcelona manager rang him up.
Neymar has scored 13 goals and added 11 assists in just 20 Ligue 1 matches, with his season cut short due to injuries.
As he’s set to complete his sixth year in the French capital, it appears many clubs, including Manchester United and Chelsea are monitoring his situation.
Although his injuries – demonstrated by the fact that he has never made over 22 league appearances for PSG – are worrisome for the PL clubs lurking, Guardiola and City have reportedly explained their ideas to the 31-year-old.
Manchester City to elevate their longstanding pursuit of Fabian Ruiz
City’s admiration for Fabian Ruiz reaches the back pages almost every other transfer window. In fact, the midfielder was touted to move to Manchester before Rodri replaced Fernandinho. Now with Ilkay Gundogan likely to leave, the rumours have resurfaced.
As per reports from Fichajes, Man City will provide an escape route for the 27-year-old, who is planning to leave Paris only a year after making the switch from Napoli.
Game time, or lack thereof, is cited as a reason for the same.
City also set to approach Marco Verratti
The above report also mentions that the Cityzens are exploring their options, one of them being Italian midfield maestro Marco Verratti.
Verratti has borne the brunt of an unhappy group of PSG supporters who are enduring, by their standards, a tumultuous season off the pitch. Talent can never be questioned as far as the Pescara-born playmaker is concerned. In fact, his attributes fit Guardiola’s three-man midfield for various reasons. Starting from his close control of the ball, agility, and ability to skip past opponents, to his press-resistant qualities as well as sturdy defending.
But after 11 years at PSG, an era earmarked by trophies – 30 to name – Verratti might be on his way out of the club if they choose to sanction a sale.
It’s also understood Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is a keen follower of his style of play, and should it come down to it, a battle for Verratti’s signature between City and Los Blancos will be a treat to follow.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Steffen Prößdorf. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.