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Pep Guardiola said Manchester City do not plan to sign more central defenders. He pointed to the club’s current squad depth and recent signings as reasons why they will not look to spend further in that area of the pitch.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Speaking ahead of City’s clash with Villa, Guardiola said: “I don’t think we need to buy more central defenders because we have a lot. We bought two young in January, but we’ll see!”
His comments came after City signed two young centre-backs during the winter window, adding to their already deep defensive unit.
CITY’S DEFENSIVE DEPTH AND SEASON SO FAR
Manchester City’s defensive options currently include key names like Rúben Dias, Joško Gvardiol, John Stones, Nathan Aké and Manuel Akanji, as well as youngsters Khusanov and Vitor Reis. This has allowed them to maintain a strong defensive record and sit near the top of the table in what has been a tight title race.
The club is locked in a fierce race with 4 other teams for European qualification. City are two points behind Nottingham who is currently third and are 2 ahead of 7th place Aston Villa.
LOOKING AHEAD: SQUAD PLANS AND FIXTURES
Guardiola hinted that Gvardiol and Dias could be the initial pair in central defence next season but emphasized that squad needs would continue to be assessed. City’s next match is a home meeting with Aston Villa, who sit seventh—two points behind City and so we still may see a lot of changes before the end of the season in the Premier League standings.
There are only five games to go and every result will be vital for City as they chase down another Premier League title and attempt to maintain their defensive stability through the final stretch.
