Pep Guardiola left Arsenal and Liverpool red-faced with Man City summer transfer
Pep Guardiola's first transfer at Manchester City was a masterstroke that left the likes of Mikel Arteta, Jurgen Klopp and Erik ten Hag in the dust. The Spanish manager set the bar high with his first signing, Ilkay Gundogan, who has been instrumental in City's success.
Guardiola's first transfer window at City in 2016 wasn't all smooth sailing. Claudio Bravo was quickly dropped from the starting lineup and Nolito only lasted one season.
Leroy Sane was sold to Bayern Munich in 2020 due to questions about his consistency. Only John Stones, who was signed from Everton, is still at the club eight years later.
But it was the signing of Gundogan that really made a difference. Guardiola wanted a technically skilled, box-to-box midfielder and he found that in Gundogan, who had previously played under Klopp at Borussia Dortmund.
Gundogan's arrival at City marked the beginning of Pep-ball in the Premier League and is considered one of the league's best signings. It certainly outshines the first signings made by Guardiola's rivals, reports the Express.
Guardiola's rivals didn't make as impressive first signings. When Klopp arrived at Liverpool in October 2015, he emphasised his preference for developing players rather than spending large amounts of money.
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That decision meant that the only new face in the following January transfer window was Marko Grujic, a Serbian midfielder who was likened to Steven Gerrard at the time. But that's where the similarities with Gerrard ended.
Grujic only played 16 games for Liverpool and during his four years at Anfield, he
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