PEP GUARDIOLA can go on a £100million shopping spree in January if anyone catches his eye at the Qatar World Cup.
Manchester City chiefs insist there will be no late arrivals before the transfer window closes on Thursday.
That is despite their £104m summer outlay being one of their lowest in recent years.
But the Etihad boss has been reassured major funds will be available if he wants reinforcements in the next window.
City have brought in Erling Haaland, Kalvin Phillips, Sergio Gomez and Julian Alvarez over the past couple of months.
But they have banked close to £250m in sales since January after a string of departures, including Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleks Zinchenko.
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Pep now has a core group of just 18 senior players.
And although he has called on academy whizkids like Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis, the Spaniard could be left light if this season’s squeezed calendar take its toll.
SunSport exclusively revealed earlier in the week how Palmer is being chased by Borussia Dortmund on a season-long loan.
But Guardiola is reluctant to send out the highly-rated England Under-21 star, who can operate on either wing or as a No 10.
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Following last week’s 3-3 draw against Newcastle, City were involved in another six-goal thriller when they faced Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Eagles went into the break 2-0 up, but turned the game around in the second half to win 4-2.
Bernardo Silva pulled a goal back in the 53rd minute, before Erling Haaland bagged a hat-trick to bring his tally to six goals in the Premier League.
Guardiola declared after the match that Haaland was born to score goal, as he said: “Erling has done [what he has done] since he was born.
“He has done what he has done all his life, in Salzburg and everywhere he has been he has scored goals.
“Against these type of teams, we struggle because they defend so deep, but he has an incredible sense of goal.
“The three (he scored), especially the last one, but the first one as well, were all good goals.
“The numbers for this guy are beyond. The most important thing is that he has settled perfectly, and he is an incredibly humble guy.
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“He is a lovely person. He chats more with the guys from the Academy and that means a lot.
“Hopefully, he can be happy the time we are together.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
