MANCHESTER CITY chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak hopes to avoid signing golden oldies in the transfer market.
Pep Guardiola has signed Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake, 25, for £40million and Spanish winger Ferran Torres, 20, from Valencia for £20m.
Man City chief Khaldoon Al Mubarak has outlined the club’s transfer strategyCredit: Reuters
City are hoping to sign Inter Milan star Lautaro MartinezCredit: EPA
City are also desperate for a striker and their number one target is Inter Milan’s 23-year-old Lautaro Martinez.
Al Mubarak said: “We don’t take a one year view, we take a three-and-half, 10-year view and when we look at what changes or improvements we have to make for this squad. We’ll be sensible and pragmatic about it but we will do what it takes.
“I think you’ve seen when it comes to the two acquisitions we have made, Ake and Ferran Torres. We moved quickly, we knew the players clearly, these were our targets and when the opportunity came, we were able to come in very quickly and swiftly and do that business.
“There are additional players we will be bringing in and we will stick to the plan obviously within the realities of the market that we live in today.
“If you look at the acquisitions we have made over the past couple of years, there’s a consistency in the type of player we have targeted in terms of age and quality. So we will continue down that road.
“The age bracket – we are always looking at it as a priority for the first team, in that 20-25 year old category, that’s kind of the spot that we like, but at the same time, the reason I don’t like to box myself in with this answer is because sometimes opportunities come up that fit with what the manager wants and with what we need for the squad that might be out of that box and if that’s the case, we’re pragmatic enough to make that move.
“So nothing is set in stone.
“We clearly have a way of doing business in terms of targets that are well defined but at the same time, we’re pragmatic enough to take the opportunity if that opportunity comes up.”
City have already acquired the likes of Nathan AkeCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The City supremo also claims there are no longer any issues with Uefa and the Champions League after winning an appeal over a two-year ban over breaking financial fair play.
He added: “Life is too short to carry grudges. It is an important competition. It is one of the most prestigious competitions in the world of sports and it is a competition we want to win and it is a competition we have to respect in order to win.
“And this was a challenge, it’s behind us, end of story as far as I am focused on one thing.
“How I can help this club compete in this competition and win it and how to have a constructive relationship with Uefa, I think it’s the only way to go.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
