Guardiola won't move for Busquets - or any other Barça player
Pep Guardiola's arrival at Manchester City will have a huge impact on the transfer market this summer. City have promised him total freedom when it comes to signings as they look to build a team that can win everything in the coming years. But both Pep and City's hierarchy have agreed not to touch any Barcelona players this summer, unless the Blaugrana put them on the market. They want to avoid conflict with the club at an institutional level and will sign players from other markets in England and in Europe.
Guardiola has been in talks with City's sporting director Txiki Begiristain for weeks now with the two deciding how to move the project forward. City are looking at making as many as eight signings, with defence the priority at the moment. They could even sign a whole new back four - two full-backs and two central defenders. In addition, one or two midfielders could arrive and someone to complement Sergio Aguero in attack, who is a player very much to Pep's taste. The targets have become clear, but on this initial list, no Barça players feature.
Despite the fact the English press continue to filter out reports that Neymar, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and even Claudio Bravo are targets, the reality is that City have not made any moves for them. Guardiola knows that it's almost impossible to sign a member of the trident because they're happy in Barcelona and would cost huge sums of money. A player who fits his style perfectly is Sergio Busquets, a midfielder who would be delighted to be reunited with Pep, but who also has not been approached. Guardiola and Begiristain do not want to create a mess with Barcelona and prefer to look for a player with a similar profile to Busquets. For Guardiola, there's no-one as good, but he's already decided not to make a move. Both, coincidentally, share an agent in Josep Maria Orobitg.
Manchester City have already began to work on the list of players they'd like to sign, which features Serie A, Bundesliga and Premier League names. They have around 250million euros, possibly more, to spend on their squad - plus any money they receive for sales. Without doubt, it will be an important project, but Barça can breathe easily because Pep and City are going to respect them this summer.
