Pep Guardiola plots Man City spending spree for Premier League star and €50m midfielder

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is reportedly plotting two major transfers as he eyes replacements for two key individuals in his squad.

The Spaniard spent heavily in the summer to bolster his team and put them in a strong position to make a positive start to the Premier League campaign.

With City sitting in title contention and having made it though the group stage of the Champions League, his work appears to have paid dividends but that is likely just the start of his transfer work.

According to The Daily Mail, Guardiola is set to make moves for Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk and Portuguese midfielder William Carvalho in the upcoming transfer windows.

It is aimed at finding long-term replacements for Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure, two players that have been pivotal to the club’s success in recent years.

However, on-going injury woes, age and an inability to fit into Guardiola’s plans have combined to suggest that they could now be offloaded, with Van Dijk and Carvalho emerging as the first choice transfer targets.

As noted by the Mail, it won’t be cheap as Van Dijk will command a much higher price-tag than the £11.5m that it took Southampton to prise him away from Celtic last year.

Meanwhile, it’s added that Sporting Clube de Portugal have no desire to sell Carvalho, and with a €50m release clause in place in his contract, it will take a significant bid to prise him away from the Portuguese giants.

Guardiola is undoubtedly right to be looking for long-term successors to Kompany and Toure, particularly in the former’s case as he continues to be plagued by injuries.

Toure has shown he can still offer something in recent weeks after being given a chance, but Guardiola must look to the future and continue his recruitment drive.

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