In the last two summers, City have postponed much of the rebuild; two of the six recruits in that time are now in the band of 30-somethings. And while Guardiola said it was harder to be stable defensively without a quartet of centre backs and two holding midfielders, arguably he only has one: Mateo Kovacic does not covet that role.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has urged the Abu Dhabi hierarchy to give him the chance to revive his faltering team amid its staggering run of poor results.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has won 18 trophies in his time at the Etihad Stadium and signed a two-year contract extension at the Premier League champions only last week