Pep Guardiola is bracing himself for another epic battle with Liverpool next season.And the Spaniard admits Manchester City will have to be even stronger if they are to come out on top again in what has become one of the great duels of English football.
Guardiola will spend the next few weeks toasting his latest title triumph from the golf courses of the north west and Barcelona.But he will be working on strengthening his star-studded squad as much as his handicap, because he knows the large presence of Liverpool will not allow him to bask in the glow of success.
This is one of the main reasons Guardiola ordered his chairman, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, to lure Erling Haaland to the Etihad for the start of next season.He hopes the Norwegian sensation will take his side to another level and help them conquer Europe.
But the spending will not stop at Haaland, with Guardiola also keen to add a defensive midfielder to his squad to replace the departed Fernandinho, along with another one and perhaps even a winger.Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips are both on his radar, along with RB Leipzig's Konrad Laimer, while Brighton full back Marc Cucurella is someone he also likes.
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