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Manchester City have completed a £20m deal for Marc Guehi in the January transfer window after originally planning to try to sign him in summer
To say that the silliest reporting of Pep Guardiola's future has him replaced by Enzo Maresca before the weekend, it must say a lot about Manchester City to be able to add Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo to their squad this month. Two of the best players in the Premier League have picked City over rival clubs despite the impending crisis of losing one of the best managers in football history.
Returning to reality, Guardiola's future cannot exactly be ignored for any potential signing. There is a chance he signs another contract extension, but it has to be baked into the heads of players deciding on their next club that the two dates Guardiola is most likely to leave City is 2027 or 2026; in his own words, he is closer to leaving than staying.
City have to be prepared for the drop off when Guardiola does leave, but they will have learned from Sir Alex Ferguson's departure at Old Trafford that the more you can have in place beyond some mumblings about DNA the better you can ride it out. The Blues have to make sure they are an attractive option for players beyond the pull of working with Guardiola, and these January signings will encourage them.
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A word too for the 115 charges, since the mainstream media never cover it and it's all a conspiracy to have us speaking Abu Dhabi in 10 years and the moon landing was fake and please engage with my tweets so I can make money off you. For all the doomsday verdicts that are prophesied online without a shred of evidence, more elite players are willing to sign for a club that is - by virtue of time passing - getting closer to a bombshell verdict that should have major ramifications for the game.
City would likely not have moved for Guehi in January if Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol had not suffered significant injuries in the same game with Chelsea at the start of the month, yet it became an opportunity they have snatched. With John Stones expected to leave at the end of the season, replacing such a formidable defender with his England teammate is a coup.
At 25 and 26, Guehi and Semenyo are important parts of the City rebuild because they not only have their best years ahead of them but they are proven in the Premier League. Unlike all of the signings that heralded the start of the changing of the guard in 2024, these two have shown they can shine in the league and believe they can take their game to the next level.
In that sense, they fit into the same bracket of signing as Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez (and, rather less successfully but from not as good a team, Kalvin Phillips) who can have an immediate impact on the team but also be signings for the long-term. City expect the pair, who count as homegrown, to lock down squad positions for years to come but also indicate that the club are willing to spend to get them in this month because there is still hope that trophies can be won this season; the Carabao Cup final is in sight, and City remain in a promising position in both the Premier League and Champions League.
The fact that City moved in January, rather than waiting until summer to try to sign Guehi on a free transfer, also meant that they had no competition from Liverpool when the champions thought they had a deal sewn up at the beginning of the season only for Palace to block it. City have not bought Guehi to stockpile, but stopping a rival from strengthening benefits them all the same.
Given Liverpool were also interested in Semenyo, it is a remarkable turnaround from the gloom that engulfed many supporters when Florian Wirtz opted for Anfield instead of the Etihad in the summer. The colossal spend from Arne Slot and Michael Edwards threatened to increase Liverpool's supremacy on the pitch and their appeal for new signings, yet six months later City are on top again in both departments.
The proof, as ever, will come on the pitch. Guehi needs to show he can be at the level needed for City playing three games a week, as Semenyo has already started to do in his first appearances for the club.
Hugo Viana remains under scrutiny after an expensive 13 months that has seen over £450m spent to usher in the next generation of winners at the Etihad. One look at the squad for Bodo/Glimt and City hardly appear to be in a position of strength.
But Guehi and Semenyo are seen as coups for the immediate days and weeks ahead as well as for the next five-and-a-half years, and signing proven Premier League stars has generally worked out well for City. It is also a strategy that has worked very well for main rivals Arsenal, with David Raya, Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze among their purchases that have helped them challenge for the biggest prizes.
Whether City can catch Arsenal this season remains to be seen, but they feel they have a chance with the boosts that Semenyo and Guehi can give them.
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