Pep Guardiola has indicated that Manchester City could launch a spending spree this summer.
The Premier League champions are bidding to win an unprecedented quadruple this season but thought is already being given to how they could bolster their star-studded squad.
Previously, Guardiola has expressed satisfaction with his group but now it seems some areas have been identified for improvement.
Speaking at a press conference, the City manager said: “There are three or four positions I think we have to try to look for, and some ideas we have.
“You know we are going to try for a holding midfielder, and other positions we are thinking about. I’m not going to tell you which positions, I don’t want to tell you the players. You have your sources.”
Guardiola did confirm, however, that left-back is one of the positions being looked at.
Benjamin Mendy has endured two injury-ravaged seasons since joining City from Monaco, forcing Guardiola to use Fabian Delph, Oleksandr Zinchenko or Aymeric Laporte as makeshift options.
Guardiola concedes there is a fear Mendy, who has been hampered by knee problems, could endure further issues next term.
He said: “I don’t know what’s going to happen but we are thinking about the chance to find somebody in that position.
“If it happens in two seasons, it can happen three, definitely. Hopefully not, we’ll work with that, he’s working with that but the truth is we could use him for a few games. That is the reality.
“At the end the strongest guys, every day, are there. That is the truth. That’s why we are looking for, maybe, you know, for next season.”
Mendy underwent knee surgery in November and has not played since his comeback match at Burton on January 23 after suffering a reaction.
The 24-year-old Frenchman was on the bench for the midweek victory over West Ham but Guardiola says he is still “not fit”.
“I didn’t have many players,” explained Guardiola. “In the last moment Fabian woke up with a problem in his leg. Philippe Sandler and Mendy were there, we brought them to the bench, but still he (Mendy) is not perfect.”
Guardiola has also revealed the club still have work to do to secure the long-term services of midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.
The German, whose current deal expires in 2020, is a key part of Guardiola’s plans but has never been an automatic starter.
Guardiola said: “He is an incredibly important player. He knows what we want, he knows what we think about him, but it’s the same as other cases like we said in the past, at the end the last decision is not in our hands.
“We try to speak with him, we want him to extend the contract right now. Yesterday would have been better than today, and today better than tomorrow. But if he doesn’t want to, we cannot do anything else.
“If he was 100 per cent then the deal would have been done, so we are still in negotiations.”
Guardiola does not expect there to be any issues, from the club’s point of view, in renewing terms with long-serving captain Vincent Kompany.
The influential defender, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has had recurring injury problems in recent years but Guardiola insists that will not influence the club’s decision.
He said: “I think that will not be the reason for Vincent staying one or two more years or not.”
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