Manchester City and Pep Guardiola have been together nearly a decade, and unlike with previous clubs, the Spanaird has been around long enough to not only see a full cycle of players reach their peaks, but their fall off as well.
When Pep first arrived at Manchester City in the summer of 2016, the Premier League was in a much different place than it is now, which is natural. Antonio Conte was charging towards a Premier League title with Chelsea, with his wingbacks in a 5-back system that was rigid, and lethal against any and all opponents. Finishing on 93 points, where Manchester City finsihed in 3rd place with 78. The summer of 2017, Pep's overhaul began, buying some of the players who would go on to play incredibly important roles in the future success of the club.
Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker, Ederson, Ilkay Gundogan, among others, were some of the big names that moved to the blue side of Manchester. This is where we truly saw Pep's vision for his City team come to life, and winning the title at the end of Pep's second season was just a glimpse of what was to come in the Premier League.
Fast forward now to February of 2025, Pep and Manchester City have won the league with 100 points, have won a domestic quadruple, have won the infamous treble like their neighbors, Manchester United, and won 4 Premier Leagues in a row, with some electric moments along the way.
However, the outlook on this season has been far from what is was in years past, as the club has struggled severely after the loss of Rodri with an ACL tear near the beginning of the season. They are in a battle for a Champions League Spot, and many players who once played pivotal roles in the outcome of games, now look like a shadow of their former selves. Among those, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, John Stones, even Kevin De Bruyne's age is finally starting to show.
This begs the question, how is this second rebuild going to look for City?
With a likely 3-4 big name departures, and a potential few more, Manchester City could be in for a summer on par with Pep's 2017 summer spending spree. This is, of course, pending the 115 FFP charges against the club and the result that looks set to come out in the coming months.
Should they be found guilty, this high profile revamp will surely be scrapped, while the departures will stil be a high probability. Meaning it could be some much less prominent signings to fill in the hole that the senior departures leave in the summer.
Primary Target
Should they be found innocent, this summer will be huge for Manchester City. Florian Wirtz has been the center of attention for many transfer rumors in the Manchester City camp, and with Kevin De Bruyne looking like he could be more of a bit part player next year, they'll need another creator. It's rumored that with Bayer Leverkusen's interest in James McAtee, the young City player could be used as added leverage to sweeten the deal and lower the asking price, even if just incrementally.
Defense
In defense, the club has been linked with names like Andrea Cambiaso of Juventus, and more recently, Tino Livramento of Newcastle United. I would not be shocked to see them have a go at AC Milan left-back Theo Hernandez after his most recent contract talks seem to have hit an impass.
Thankfully, City did manage to wrangle the one position they so desperately needed in the January window, so the defensive midfield position is now in capable hands until Rodri returns, with Nico Gonzalez looking like a smart bit of business from Pep and City.
Midfield enforcer
Another name that has been on City's radar for years, is Bruno Guimaraes, believing him to be a great fit, and with Newcastle's financial situation, City could swoop in for the player that Newcastle United see as vital to their success.
There will be alot of movement for Manchester City this summer, of that we can be sure. With so much going on surroundning the club, what their rebuild will look like will remain anybody's guess!