Pep Guardiola Explains How He Will Utilise Manchester City's Newest Signings
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City will not change to suit their new signings, but has a good feeling about how they will fit into the team.
After winning back-to-back Premier League titles, the Blues have undergone a complete squad refresh to maintain the hunger for even more success.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus have all left the club, while Erling Haaland, Kalvin Phillips, Julian Alvarez and Stefan Ortega are the fresh faces through the door.
The arrival of Haaland is by far the most exciting for supporters. After operating at almost a goal per game during his time at Borussia Dortmund, there is a sense of anticipation about what he could achieve in Sky Blue.
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For the last two years, City have operated without the presence of a recognised number nine and successfully adopted a false nine system.
There is likely going to be a switch back this season with Haaland's signature, but Guardiola has admitted there will not be any drastic changes in style.
“We are not going to change the way we play," he told the club's official website.
“We’re going to adapt the quality that the players have to be involved in the way we play, but we are not going to change the way we play.
“Why should we change the way we play when we did really quite well in these last seasons?
“But we want Erling, Julian and Kalvin, and of course, Stefan, we want the best of them, the best version of them, adapting what you want to play.
“I’m pretty sure it’s happened.
"It’s [been] just a few days together, but the feeling is really good for all of them.”
We got the first taste of all four signings during City's pre-season tour of the US last week.
Haaland - as expected - got off to the perfect start with a goal inside 12 minutes on his debut, but there was also exciting cameos from the other three signings.
Julian Alvarez has arrived from South America with a lot of pedigree and his abundance of quality has translated onto the pitch in his first 70 minutes against Club América.
Leeds born and bred Kalvin Phillips made a big leap this summer, but the opportunity to work with Guardiola was just too good to say no.
City supporters are expected to see their new signings in competitive action for the first time this weekend, when they take on Liverpool in the Community Shield.
That is followed by a trip to West Ham United to kick-off their Premier League title defence.
Topics: Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Premier League, Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Kalvin Phillips
Harry Siddall