“He loves both” – Manchester City insider reveals Pep Guardiola’s aim of signing TWO names for midfield roles

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola holds an intention to sign two of the Premier League’s best midfield operators during the upcoming summer transfer window.

Etihad Stadium recruitment bosses are widely expected to be busy in terms of transfer activity both into Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad and out of it in the coming months, with the 2024/25 season currently set to be the Catalan’s final campaign at the club.

The last few months have been full of speculation concerning Manchester City’s midfield, with a long list of names excelling on the continent linked with interest from the Premier League champions, namely Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala.

However, given the fact that Manchester City themselves believe the German playmaker may not be available in the coming months, their attentions are likely to centre around two stars excelling in the Premier League.

The latest information is that Txiki Begiristain and his colleagues within transfer-focussed roles are likely to be handed a clear directive from Guardiola himself to recruit two names ahead of the new season, and from Premier League rivals.

Reporting in a new post on social media platform X, Manchester City insider ‘Tolmie’s Hairdoo’ has revealed that Pep Guardiola holds an intention to sign both Newcastle and West Ham’s Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Paqueta.

“As of now, Pep (Guardiola) prefers to sign (Bruno) Guimaraes and (Lucas) Paqueta,” the source wrote on Tuesday. “He loves both and feels their Premier League experience and age profiles are exactly what his team needs and both are desperate to come.”

Paqueta addressed the subject of Manchester City interest during the most recent international break in March, to which he stated, “I think that out of respect for West Ham I have to stay focused on my duty at West Ham and keep working.”

The Brazilian midfielder is widely understood to have an £85 million release clause becoming active in his contract at the London Stadium this summer, while the same contractual clause also applies to Bruno Guimaraes.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe personally confirmed a report from Fabrizio Romano during a recent press conference, stating that Guimarães’ release clause will be valid from the last week of May to the beginning of the last week of June, at a valuation of £100 million.