Manchester City may have won the Premier League title and League Cup while reaching the final of the Champions League, but they need to think about a rebuild.
Fernandinho turned 36 at the beginning of May, Kyle Walker turned 31 at the end of May, Kevin De Bruyne turns 30 at he end of June and Ilkay Gundogan turns 31 in October, so a right-back and midfield may be needed.
Sport say City are addressing this problem by holding talks with Barcelona over Sergi Roberto, but here are two reasons why they might avoid bringing him to the Etihad Stadium.
Roberto isn’t a spring chicken. The Spanish international is 29 years of age and would turn 30 next season, so he wouldn’t be the best long-term replacement for Walker, De Bruyne or Gundogan.
City have spent big money on players in their mid-20s with resale value, so Roberto might be too short-term to warrant signing.
Roberto wouldn’t come cheap either. Although his deal at Barcelona is up next summer, Sport say he will still cost €10m-a-year (£8.6m-a-year/£165k-per-week) in wages, so he’d be one of the highest earners in City’s squad.
As a result, the Premier League leaders might be better off spending their money elsewhere.
In other news, selling this ‘quality’ Man City player would be a mistake by Pep Guardiola