Pep Guardiola to give first glimpse of £300m rebuild after brutal Man City overhaul

Manchester City have continued their summer investment with Pep Guardiola shelling out nearly £300m on new players across the calendar year with the new look team taking to the Club World Cup

The spending is hurtling towards the £300million mark in this year alone. And the Club World Cup may give us the first glimpse of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City rebuild.

City begin their campaign against Moroccan side Wydad in Philadelphia today, having worked in the blistering Miami heat at their Florida training base. That effort is shaping City’s line-up for next season, when it will be Pep 3.0 with arguably the third incarnation of his winning machine at the Etihad.

The team of Vincent Kompany, Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Co of the 2017/18 season was replaced by the four-in-a-row champions of Erling Haaland, Rodri, Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker.

Now comes the new challenge of another rebuild with the likes of Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush.

City spent big in January and they have gone again with Cherki, Reijnders and Ait-Nouri in the mini window ahead of the tournament in the United States. The spending in the two windows is in excess of £288m. But the rebuild arguably came a season too late, with Guardiola’s side failing to win a trophy for the first time since 2017.

It has been a brutal overhaul too with Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish set to follow Kevin De Bruyne out of the exit door. What is interesting is that while Liverpool have broken the bank for Florian Wirtz, none of City’s signings are £100m-plus superstars and it will be a challenge for Guardiola to blend a raft of new faces into a team.

That is why this tournament can be useful for City and instructive for the rest of the Premier League. Guardiola has been the most prolific, successful and innovative Premier League manager in the past nine years and, judging by his enthusiasm and drive in training, he looks ready to go again.

The team is taking shape now in a way that it still looked a bit jumbled after January’s spending spree. Perhaps the only missing piece of the jigsaw is a right back. Manuel Akanji can play there, as can John Stones and Rico Lewis. But they may yet move for a natural right back rather than put Matheus Nunes in there again.

But Ait-Nouri can challenge Nathan Ake at left back. Rodri is fit again to anchor midfield. Reijnders was sensational at AC Milan last season and the £46.5m signing was named Serie A’s best midfielder in 2024/25.

Reijnders has already caught the eye of his City team mates. He is a player with big potential and talent. Not at De Bruyne level yet – who on earth is? – but can improve and now has a coach to help him get there. Cherki has arrived from Lyon with plenty of confidence – talking about winning the Ballon D’Or and wanting to “kill” Manchester United – and should be an exciting addition to the creative or forward line.

Marmoush was by far and away the most successful signing in January but there may be more to come from Vitor Reis, who was courted by other Premier League clubs, including Arsenal, before joining City for £29m. Defender Abdukodir Khusanov was hit and miss after his £33m switch but Marmoush hit the ground running with goals, pace and excitement.

Haaland worked well with Julian Alvarez during his time at the Etihad and a similar partnership with Marmoush is a mouth watering prospect. Guardiola went through the mill last season, suffering an unprecedented run of bad results and setbacks. It looked as if he might be nearing the end but his decision to stay, commit to a new contract, signalled the start of a new era.

And if it is anywhere near as successful as the previous teams, then City are in for another blockbuster ride which begins here in the United States.

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.