In the last two summers, City have postponed much of the rebuild; two of the six recruits in that time are now in the band of 30-somethings. And while Guardiola said it was harder to be stable defensively without a quartet of centre backs and two holding midfielders, arguably he only has one: Mateo Kovacic does not covet that role.

Man City boss Pep Guardiola agrees terms on two-year contract extension; the 53-year-olds contract was due to expire at the end of the season; Catalan reveals he had pondered leaving next summer after