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Maybe when you signed four of the seven most defending club defensemen of all time, you think you're a bit tricky in the transfer market.
But this investment on Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy, all on offers ranging from 47.5 to 57 million pounds sterling, was considered essential to give Pep Guardiola the strength of the City. he wished.
It turned out that the money was well spent, the Blues having won two consecutive Premier League titles alongside a historic national triple last season.
Now, Vincent Kompany has completed his 11-year stay in the city of Etihad. They must return to the transfer market to sign a replacement, but they will not be required to pay a ransom.
Harry Maguire has been identified as the main target of this role, but with Leicester City charging him a huge price, City prefers to look beyond paying for what they consider to be excessive fees.
Although they are accused of distorting the market, City has long been a fundamental principle. They will not pay too much for the players. That is why they hesitated over the 75 million pounds of Virgil van Dijk, preferring to spend more and more at Laporte, with the 18 million pounds bought under 25 by Athletic Bilbao.
After being opposed to paying the world record for a defenseman 18 months ago, City no longer wants to beat that record for a player who will have to compete with Laporte and Stones for a spot in the team.
Maguire is an extremely impressive footballer and can be considered an ideal choice for Guardiola's team, given his ease with the ball and his willingness to dribble in the midfield, but City simply does not want to shell out £ 90 million to sign it.
The 26-year-old will certainly have caught the eye as he embarked on the race from his own six-yard Etihad area in early May, slaloming on the left wing before giving James Maddison a chance. . It was after this match that Kompany realized that his relationship with City would be cut off, as he struggled to hold back his tears after the final whistle, while his love at first sight had given the Blues smaller wins.
(Image: Getty Images)
Replacing it will not be an easy task. City has high hopes for 18-year-old Eric Garcia, who will be promoted to the first team this season, as Kompany's departure persuades Nicolas Otamendi to stay for another season.
But even if Maguire is the ideal candidate for this defense, City has the right to refuse to pay what they consider an inflated selling price. The ball may be in the Leicester City camp when it comes to selling, but that does not mean the Blues have to get into the game.
Last January, Guardiola rejected the possibility of spending 100 million pounds on a midfielder. It is therefore unlikely that the club plans to pay an amount close to that of a defender. Although City has hired many players for a fee of about 50 million pounds, they do not have the highest payroll in Europe.
"A month ago, I started reading:" Ruben Neves, £ 100m. That will not happen, we will not pay £ 100m for a midfielder, "said the City boss.
"The most expensive was Riyadh (Mahrez, for £ 60m) and it is far from what the top teams are paying in. Our payroll for players is eighth, ninth or tenth in Europe."
Guardiola also said that City could not compete with Real Madrid or Barcelona to recruit players, but they will not compete either for the players when they consider that the price to pay is unrealistic.
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