August 10th 2023.
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City will begin their new Premier League campaign on Friday, and the Citizens have high hopes for the upcoming season. After their historic treble win, City are looking to become the first team in history to win four consecutive Premier League titles. In order to do this, they have invested heavily in the transfer market to strengthen their squad.
So far, City have signed Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig and Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea, and have recently offered West Ham £70 million for midfielder Lucas Paqueta. However, Guardiola refused to speak on the Paqueta story in his pre-match press conference, simply stating: “I will not answer about Paqueta. He is a West Ham player.”
The club have also lost several key players over the summer, including captain Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez. There is also speculation that Kyle Walker, Cole Palmer and Bernardo Silva could be leaving the Etihad. Walker has been linked with Bayern Munich, but it was recently reported that the right-back would be staying in England and close to agreeing a new contract.
When asked about the Walker situation, Guardiola said he had “no news” but that they “are wishing he stays.” The manager was more open about Palmer’s future, as the 21-year-old has been of interest to many clubs since his starring role in England’s victorious U21 Euros campaign. Palmer scored a spectacular goal in City’s Community Shield defeat to Arsenal last weekend, but has only made 39 appearances for his boyhood club, scoring five goals and two assists.
“Cole is with us. Today he is with us. What is going to happen, I don’t know,” Guardiola said. He went on to say that he understands Palmer wants to be more active than the previous season, but also that City need to make the best decision for the team. The club will ultimately decide Palmer's future before the transfer window closes.
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