Man City confident of Guardiola stay as €115m triple signing plan emerges

Robin Bairner

• 7 Feb 2026 11:13 GMT
• 4 min read

News

Manchester City are “very confident” that Pep Guardiola will remain in his current post until the end of his contract and are ready to provide him with three big-name signings to tempt him to stay.

Guardiola’s future at City has been called into question in recent months, with growing rumours that he will quit the club at the end of the season.

These were amplified when it was revealed the former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has already held talks with the Premier League giants over the job.

Man City ‘very confident’ of Pep stay

Man City are ignoring the noise around Guardiola and, according to The i Paper, are “very confident” about their manager remaining in post until at least the summer of 2027, when his contract expires.

One of the reasons cited by insiders as to why he could remain at City is because it gives him a platform to speak about political causes that he is passionate about, such as Palestine. He would not have this opportunity if he were out of work.

On top of this, the widespread belief is that Guardiola would want to give his club a long period to replace him, meaning an announcement over his future would be close. There is no sign of such a declaration.

Three transfer targets identified: Anderson, Kayode and Read

Instead, City are already lining up summer transfer targets to strengthen Guardiola’s side. The club is looking primarily at other Premier League sides to bolster their ranks and have identified three players of particular interest.

Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson is one player in particular that City want, and they are confident that they can beat Manchester United to the England star.

A new right-back is also on Guardiola’s shopping list, with City fielding Matheus Nunes in that role this term. To this end, they are tracking Michael Kayode of Brentford and Feyenoord’s Givairo Read.

More big spending would be no surprise

City are coming off a January transfer window in which they spent close to €100m, while they also splashed out more than €200m in the summer.

This is a club used to big spending, so will certainly not baulk at the prospect of landing three players who have a total worth of around €110m – even if Anderson is likely to go for a figure well above his €50m Estimated Transfer Value (ETV).

Indeed, this trio all seem to be viable targets for the Manchester giants, and furnishing Guardiola with the ability to continue his rebuild his squad in the summer would appear to be a smart way to ensure that he remains at the club for at least one more year.

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Man City to pay €50m to snatch Erling Haaland rival from Chelsea

Guardiola demands League Cup rule change for Man City ahead of Arsenal final

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