Expert: Man City to 'ask questions' of Pep Guardiola after 'massive' twist
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Credit: Hasan Karim, Breaking Media, Imago
Callum O'Connell
Thu 4 September 2025 9:52, UK
Pep Guardiola could face pressure at Man City in a surprise twist following their difficult start to the season and a “massive” squad overhaul.
That is according to former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected within the game, as he exclusively told Football Insider that the 54-year-old cannot afford a repeat of last season’s disappointment.
City officials are expecting to win the league once again after spending around £180million on a considerable refresh of their first-team squad during the transfer window.
However, the sales of the departures of the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Kyle Walker have raised concerns about losing too many experienced heads.
it has been suggested elsewhere that Man City players are “bored” of Guardiola after his nine years at the Etihad and would support a change of voice in the dressing room.
While those claims remain farfetched as things stand, and the boss has plenty of credit in the bank at City, questions will be asked if their poor start to the season continues.
Credit: Imago
Brown told Football Insider in February that Guardiola has been frustrated at Man City and had grown impatient with his squad following a “disastrous” mid-season spell.
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The former scout, who has a wealth of experience working closely with elite-level managers including the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Ron Atkinson at Man United, explained that a similar rum of form this term would see questions asked of the boss.
“Questions are going to be asked by Man City,” he told Football Insider.
“He’s obviously got a lot of credit in the bank at City with everything he’s achieved there.
“At the moment the view is that he’s pretty much untouchable, but with the money they’ve spent on this massive squad overhaul, he does need to get results.
“The expectation there is that they win the league every year, last year they came nowhere close.
“If they have a similar season after this poor start they’ve had, maybe there will be some pressure.
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“Man City have lost a lot of senior players in the transfer window, and they don’t have that stable foundation of players that they’ve always had.
“Kyle Walker, Ederson, Manuel Akanji, Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish.
“These are all players who have played big roles for City and have now been sold, and that can have a real impact on the team going forward.
“No matter who you are, it’s quite easy to start the season and before you know it you’ve lost three or four games and you’re not where you expected to be.
“While I don’t think there’s any pressure on Guardiola, he does need a better season than they had last year, otherwise questions will be asked.”
Guardiola may already have a big decision to make following transfer deadline day, with Gianluigi Donnarumma brought in from Paris Saint-Germain.
Football Insider revealed on 2 September that Donnarumma will replace James Trafford as the first-choice goalkeeper at City immediately following his arrival.
Credit: Imago
Following a difficult start for the England international since his move from Burnley, he could now find himself out of the starting XI.
The Italy international and Trafford are backed up by Stefan Ortega, who has often deputised for the departed Ederson in the past and always performed well when called upon.
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