Pep Guardiola in battle to land £50m-rated PL star, but Man City boss suffers setback in reunion bid

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Despite the fact that Man City are flying high so far this season, it’s reported that Pep Guardiola is still eyeing reinforcements for his squad.

The Spaniard’s side have won 11 of their 12 Premier League games so far this season to open up an eight-point gap over their nearest rivals, while they’ve comfortably qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League.

In turn, aside from the setback of losing summer signing Benjamin Mendy to injury, there doesn’t seem to be a major need to buy more players as they look well equipped to launch a sustained bid for trophies this season with plenty of depth, particularly in the attacking places which makes this first report questionable.

According to the Manchester Evening News, as per Don Balon, Guardiola wants Leicester City ace Riyad Mahrez, despite already having the likes of Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero to fill out the positions across the frontline.

That’s not to say it isn’t easy to see why Guardiola would want to sign him, as after a slightly difficult campaign last year to follow up the title-winning season with the Foxes, the 26-year-old has three goals and five assists in 13 appearances so far this season as he looks to be getting back to his best.

Again though, coupled with the point on competition above, as well as the fact that Leicester were pushing for £50m for the Algerian international this past summer, as reported by The Telegraph, it’s debatable as to whether this would make sense for City and Guardiola.

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Guardiola could be forced to abandon reported Man City pursuit of Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich…

Meanwhile, according to The Sun, Guardiola could be left disappointed in his reported pursuit of Bayern Munich ace Joshua Kimmich, a player he will know well after his stint in charge in Bavaria.

It’s hardly a surprise in truth that Bayern are keen to tie down the 22-year-old to a new contract, as he’s been a regular so far this season and has had a significant influence on the team with three goals and nine assists in 20 appearances.

Coupled with his versatility and with such a long way to go in his career to improve and develop further, it’s a no-brainer that the Bundesliga giants want to keep him and fend off possible interest from Guardiola and City by agreeing new terms.

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