Guardiola won’t marvel at his team – he’ll demand Haaland and Rice are bought

Don’t wait around for updates – sign up for our daily football email newsletter today!

Pep Guardiola could be forgiven for spending his summer doing nothing more taxing than polishing the diamond he's unearthed in the blue half of Manchester.

Most people find it difficult to see how he can make the gem he's created sparkle even more than it has done this season.

But Guardiola is not like most people. The man with an addiction to winning and relentless drive for continued success knows he cannot sit back and marvel at the jewel before him.

Like proven winners before him, Guardiola knows when rivals look beaten and broken the next thing to do is stamp down even harder to pile even more pain on them.

The Spaniard will also know that even the best cannot stand still and have to evolve.

Scaling the mountain is one thing, but continuing to sit at the top looking down on the rest is another challenge altogether. Just look at Liverpool?

To do this Guardiola has to avoid repeating of some of the mistakes he's made in the past.

Even this genius is not perfect, as he proved in 2019 when failing to replace Vincent Kompany.

This oversight left Manchester City vulnerable in defence and look what happened next? Liverpool strode to their first league title in three decades, having also won the Champions League.

The hole was eventually filled last summer by Ruben Dias, who arrived from Benfica for a club-record fee of £65m and went on to become the bedrock of City's latest title triumph.

But now Guardiola has two more missing pieces of the jigsaw to find again if City are to continue their assault on domestic and European dominance.

Sergio Aguero needs replacing (good luck with that Pep), while midfield maestro Fernandinho, 36, is also expected to leave the Etihad this summer.

Guardiola has now won nine league titles in his last 12 seasons as a boss, but finding the reasons why is not rocket science.

The best coach in the world has worked with the best players in the world, because it's the law of champions to add power from a position of strength.

Top trending sport stories right now

  • Stadium details for AJ vs Fury
  • Button shuns Hamilton 'top' driver
  • Tyson wanted to KILL Holyfield

    • Earlier this week City owner Sheikh Mansour told Guardiola he wanted to see even more trophies arrive at the Etihad.

    Guardiola's message in return should be swift and simple. "Fine, sign me Erling Haaland and Declan Rice boss, and your wish is my command."

    Guardiola's legacy is now assured, but it's a dynasty he wants to create and to do this he needs to be working with the best in the business if he is to keep his wounded rivals at arms length.

    If Guardiola can persuade Mansour to dip into his billions again and lure Haaland and Rice to the Etihad, then it's difficult to see how the status quo can be changed, no matter how good Thomas Tuchel proves to be at Chelsea.

    – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

    Virgil van Dijk has been lauded as some sort of saint for turning his back on the Euros to focus on being fit for Liverpool come the start of next season.

    The Dutch giant has ruled out captaining Holland this summer as he continues his rehabilitation from the cruciate ligament injury that wrecked his campaign.

    He said: "I have come to a decision that I had to make. With everything that is going on, I feel physically it is the right decision that I've decided not to go to the Euros.

    "The full focus will be on pre-season with the club and that's a realistic goal. I am gutted to miss the Euros and leading out my own country, but I have to accept it. It's tough, but I'm at peace with it."

    Don't miss a thing with our football updates!

    Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?

    Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!

    From the latest transfer news to the agenda-setting stories, get it all in your email inbox – don't miss a thing.

    How do you sign up?

    It only takes a matter of seconds.

    Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article and hit 'subscribe'.

    And that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top news stories every single morning.

    You can find out more information on our email newsletter on this link here.

    So in an outbreak of common sense, morality and priorities, Van Dijk has decided to put his club before country.

    The same club that pays him £220,000-a-week and has funded the astronomical medical bills he's accrued since getting injured in October.

    These are not the actions of a saint.

    These are the actions of someone who has shown loyalty to those who employ him.

    Van Dijk hasn't reinvented the wheel or threatened to replace Mother Teresa, he's just done the right thing.

    GOOD WEEK FOR

    Rory McIlroy – Has spent the week celebrating his first PGA Tour win since 2019 to remind people how good he can be – and is now the favourite heading into the next Major of the season, the PGA Championship.

    Tom Johnstone – The England and Wakefield Trinity winger has been forced to see a specialist regarding ongoing concussion-related symptoms, which have kept him sidelined since the second week of the Super League season.

    Roberto Firmino – The striker rediscovered his mojo to become the first Liverpool player to score twice in a league game at Old Trafford since Steven Gerrard back in 2014.

    BAD WEEK FOR

    Allan Russell – The England striker coach has left his job under Gareth Southgate just a month before the Euros, in the wake of his role in a serious car crash in Oxfordshire which left a man in another vehicle with serious injuries.

    Romelu Lukaku – Police raided his birthday party in Milan and fined more than 20 guests for breaching Covid-19 rules. What a berk.

    Mike Brown – The England international saw his 16-year stint at Harlequins end in shame after being handed a six week ban for stamp against Wasps.

    READ MORE: Fresh Ibrahima Konate revelation offers Liverpool huge hope of completing deal

    READ MORE: 5 Worst FA Cup finals of 21st century as fans pray for goals in Chelsea vs Leicester

    • Manchester City FC
    • West Ham FC
    • Borussia Dortmund FC
    • Liverpool FC
    • Premier League
    • Euro 2020
    • Champions League
    • Virgil van Dijk
    • Pep Guardiola
    • Gareth Southgate
    • Rory McIlroy
    • Sergio Aguero
    • Steven Gerrard

    Source: Read Full Article