Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has granted a rare interview with Skysports in which he spoke about a wide range of issues concerning the club, and the future moving forward.
He spoke about the past season and the challenges that they faced during the season. He expressed satisfaction at Kevin De Bruyne, and for that matter a City player finally winning the Premier League Player of the Year after being snubbed for the last two occasions that they have won the title.
Al Mubarak also talked about the problems they have had with UEFA concerning breaches of the FFP rules, and how they have resolved to move on from that debacle, and their aspirations to win the Champions League.
The part of the interview that the City fans will be most interested in is his recognition of the flaws in the player body, and how they intend to back the manager to resolve them. The financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has however had an impact on their plans going forward.
He said: “You have to take that into consideration and that’s part of that sensibility approach that we have to take but at the same time, my position is clear – we don’t take a one-year view, we take a three-, five-, ten-year view and when we look at what changes or improvements we have to make for this squad, we’re going to make them.
“We’re going to make them and we’ll be sensible and pragmatic about it but we will do what it takes. I think you’ve seen when it comes to the two acquisitions we have made, Ake and Ferran Torres, we moved quickly, we knew the players clearly, these were our targets and when the opportunity came, we were able to come in very quickly and swiftly and do that business.
“There are additional players we will be bringing in and we will stick to the plan obviously within the realities of the market that we live in today.”
He recognizes the need to improve the squad with players of the right age profile. But most importantly, they are keeping an open mind. This suggest age might not be an issue in their attempt to get a deal done for Kalidou Koulibaly, 29.
“If you look at the acquisitions we have made over the past couple of years, there’s a consistency in the type of player we have targeted in terms of age and quality”, he stated. “So we will continue down that road. The age bracket, we are always looking at it as a priority for the first team, in that 20- to 25-year-old category – that’s kind of the spot that we like.
“But at the same time, the reason I don’t like to box myself in with this answer is because sometimes opportunities come up that fit with what the manager wants and with what we need for the squad that might be out of that box and if that’s the case, we’re pragmatic enough to make that move.
“So nothing is set in stone. We clearly have a way of doing business in terms of targets that are well defined but at the same time, we’re pragmatic enough to take the opportunity if that opportunity comes up.”
Fans of Manchester City can be excited that at least there are moves to improve the squad in areas that they fell well short in the last campaign.
