One of the reasons Bayern Munich dominated Europe last season was the quality signings it made during the 2012 summer.
A manager’s task during the transfer window is simple: keep the best players and add quality reinforcements.
The managers across Europe are now working overtime to capture the signatures of their preferred ones.
Starting with Manchester City, this series will have a look at the teams that have recruited marquee players and are also poised for major structural changes.
Renowned for successfully implementing the 4-2-2-2, 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 formations at his former clubs, Manuel Pellegrini’s task at the Etihad is to build a side in 4-3-3 in line with the wishes of its sporting director, Txiki Begiristain.
4-3-3 model
The 4-3-3 model will run through all levels of the club, similar to Barcelona’s, with an aim to bring in more players from the youth academy.
The Chilean, nicknamed ‘The Engineer’, has built teams around his best attacking talents. Switching to 4-3-3 will not be a problem for Pellegrini as he has the right set of musicians to make the band highly successful.
City has already been boosted by the arrival of Fernandinho and Navas and the scouts are working hard to get Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo on board.
Pellegrini, during his presentation to the media last week, promised attractive football this season.
“I am sure we are going to play an attractive game. We will always try to play in the opposition’s [half], try to be an attacking team, do what all the other teams I worked with before did,” he said.
It’s time for ‘The Engineer’ to start building a solid foundation in order to achieve the target of five trophies in five seasons.
