Pep Guardiola 'planning major Manchester City clearout'

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola watches on during his side's Premier League clash with Hull City at the Etihad Stadium on Boxing Day
© SilverHub
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is reportedly planning a major overhaul of his squad during the summer transfer window.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is reportedly planning a major overhaul of his squad during the summer transfer window.

Guardiola fell to the heaviest league defeat of his managerial career at the hands of Everton on Sunday, with the 4-0 loss at Goodison Park leading the Spaniard to rule his side out of the title race.

Ten points is currently the gap to league leaders Chelsea, and the defeat has also convinced Guardiola to make substantial changes to his squad at the end of the current campaign.

The Telegraph reports that Guardiola wants a complete overhaul of his defence with two new full-backs and two new central defenders, in addition to another goalkeeper, midfielder and striker.

Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand has emerged as one of Guardiola's top targets despite having only signed a new five-year deal at St Mary's last summer.

Bertrand's teammate Virgil van Dijk is also thought to be on Guardiola's radar, while Borussia Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez are more high-profile targets for the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss.

As many as 13 players could be set to leave the club during a mass clearout, with Wilfredo Caballero, Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Yaya Toure and Jesus Navas all out of contract at the end of the campaign.

Aleksandar Kolarov also only has 18 months remaining on his deal, while City are thought to be open to offers for Joe Hart, Eliaquim Mangala, Samir Nasri and Wilfried Bony, all of whom are currently out on loan.

Injury-prone captain Vincent Kompany could face an uncertain future too, while Fabian Delph is expected to depart having failed to work his way into the first team under Guardiola.

Eliaquim Mangala of Manchester City runs with the ball during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on September 19, 2015
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Chelsea21171345153052
2Tottenham HotspurSpurs22137243142946
3Liverpool22136351272445
4Arsenal21135348222644
5Manchester CityMan City22134541261543
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd22118333211241
7Everton22106633231036
8West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom229583028232
9Stoke CityStoke227782834-628
10West Ham UnitedWest Ham2284102936-728
11Bournemouth2275103239-726
12Burnley2182112331-826
13Southampton216691926-724
14Watford2266102538-1324
15Leicester CityLeicester2156102434-1021
16Middlesbrough2248101825-720
17Swansea CitySwansea2253142651-2518
18Crystal Palace2244143041-1116
19Hull City2144132045-2516
20Sunderland2243152042-2215
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