Five facing the exit at Manchester City

Yaya Touré Guardiola has sold him once before – from Barcelona to Manchester City in 2010 – and at 32 he has visibly slowed this season.

Jesús Navas Thinks, runs, plays in straight lines: the polar opposite to the identikit Guardiola footballer.

Aleksandar Kolarov Is suspect defensively and also lacks the prerequisite demanded by Guardiola: a sweet first touch that can turn a game as much as a pass, shot or tackle.

Fernando As Sergio Busquets illustrated, there is room for a destroyer in a Guardiola side but Fernando lacks the craft the Barcelona player also offers.

Wilfried Bony Guardiola seems suspicious of dedicated strikers and one who has so far not been prolific at City appears expendable.

Five who can flourish

Sergio Agüero Has a champion mentality, a world-class technique and cannot stop scoring.

David Silva If Guardiola was to build his perfect creative forward he would surely come up with one close to the 30-year-old.

Kevin De Bruyne Twelve goals and 12 assists for City shows he is built for the Premier League and Champions League and at 24 he will only become better.

Raheem Sterling Has proved he is worth the £49m transfer fee and, given the player’s driven mentality, Guardiola will know he can work with him to try to lift him into the elite class.

Joe Hart The goalkeeper has been near-faultless and may do for Guardiola’s City what Manuel Neuer has done for the Spaniard’s Bayern Munich.

Five they may target



Thiago Alcântara The 24-year-old is the kind of one-touch operator Guardiola looks for, as illustrated when he bought him from Barca in summer 2013.

Marcelo City are desperate to improve their left-back position and the Real Madrid and Brazil defender with Champions League and La Liga titles on his CV would do so.

Paul Pogba City continue to target the powerhouse midfielder and with Guardiola in place it will surely became easier to acquire a man who can dominate contests.

John Stones Guardiola may look at the playmaking Everton centre-back and be reminded of Gerard Piqué, who he signed from Manchester United in 2008 and made one of the supreme defenders.

Philippe Coutinho When fit the Brazilian’s vision and zest allow him to unlock the opposition for Liverpool – a quality usually found in a Guardiola team.