Revamped Manchester City ready for new era without talisman Kevin de Bruyne

MANCHESTER – Manchester City will embark on a new era this season in their first in 10 years without talisman Kevin de Bruyne, as Pep Guardiola looks to make last term’s third-place finish a distant memory and restore his revamped outfit to their former glory.

They face a tough task against champions Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea – all big spenders in the transfer window – but the anticipated return of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri and scoring machine Erling Haaland to top form give reason for optimism.

City were tipped last season to win a record-extending fifth consecutive Premier League title, but a mid-season nosedive saw them fall well off the pace and miss a top-two spot for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign.

They finished third behind Liverpool and Arsenal with their worst points total under Guardiola and their nine league losses were more than their two previous seasons combined.

They crashed out of the Champions League and League Cup early and their FA Cup final loss to Crystal Palace meant no silverware for the first time in eight years.

Rodri was sidelined for most of last season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament against Arsenal in September. Guardiola’s men showed how much the Spaniard was missed when they went on a woeful run of nine defeats in 12 games across all competitions.

After leading the Premier League in scoring for two successive seasons, Haaland’s 31 goals across all competitions in 2024-25 remarkably constituted a drop in performance, although he still showed his lethal ability in what was considered an off-year for him.

He will be keen to prove a point this season and put himself back in the running for the Golden Boot.

Guardiola began his rebuilding last term, splashing out £180 million (S$311 million) on Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez and Vitor Reis. Marmoush had an almost immediate impact with a first-half hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Newcastle United in February.

City’s manager has further galvanised his squad by signing Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Rayan Ait-Nouri, winger Rayan Cherki and goalkeeper James Trafford in the close season to push City’s spending for 2025 past the £300 million mark.

Ait-Nouri was brought in to reinforce the left-back position, while Reijnders and Cherki were signed in the hope that they could replace de Bruyne’s creative spark in midfield.

While City boast one of the best strikers in the game in Haaland, the fight to support the 25-year-old runs deep with Marmoush, Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Oscar Bobb and Cherki all in contention.

Guardiola said that while there is a lot of positivity in the squad, he does not expect the new season to be smooth sailing.

“I’m pretty sure it’ll be good, but it won’t be a red-carpet season. There’ll always be problems, it’s how you overcome those situations,” the 54-year-old Spaniard said at a sold-out open training session in Manchester earlier in August.

“The expectation at the beginning of the season is always – let’s go and try to do our best, win the first games, get confidence and move forward. Of course, we want to try and do better than last season, especially with consistency.”

The manager, who is under contract until June 2027, is not setting any target, saying it is difficult to determine what a successful campaign would be.

“When the (players) give good spirit and fight and run and give their best, sometimes you can do your best and the opponents are just better,” he said.

“It depends on ourselves, this is what we have to try to do. We challenge against ourselves, this is the target for the season.”

A cloud continues to hang over the club as they face 115 charges of breaking Premier League financial regulations.

City, who have always denied any wrongdoing, were charged with the alleged breaches in February 2023. British media expect a verdict during the October international break. REUTERS