Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City have to be “quicker and smarter” in the transfer market if they are to land targets in the future.
Frenkie De Jong was in discussions with the Premier League champions regarding a potential move before the highly-rated 21-year-old midfielder agreed to join Barcelona from Ajax in the summer for a fee of €75m(£65m).
Guardiola understands the Dutchman’s desire to join his former club but, in general, wants City to try and sign players earlier so that they are affordable. “The transfer market, the salaries, increase a lot. After Neymar [moved to] PSG [for £200m], prices increased to incredible levels. We have to be quicker and smarter and try to buy the players,” he said.
“We have to adapt. It’s difficult to buy top, top players at a good price. It’s almost impossible. Maybe we have to trust in the young players [in the academy] and help them develop their own personality here.”
Guardiola has previously stated City would not pay £100m for a holding midfielder to provide competition to Fernandinho – £60m is the club’s record fee, for Riyad Mahrez.
Speaking about De Jong’s move to Barça, Guardiola said: “I said many times – Barcelona and [Real] Madrid: it’s impossible to fight against them, for the prestige, the incredible league, the incredible clubs they are.
“The players have to take their own decisions. When they don’t want to come it’s because they want another place. There are other options but we are going to try if we believe we need players in that position.”
If Barcelona and Real can also offer a higher salary, Guardiola is certain that having the correct pay structure is vital to maintaining team spirit. “I think we try to keep the harmony in the locker room with the wages,” he said. “When you have no balance with that then there is always a problem with the mood in the locker room. One of the good things that City have done is keeping that balance.
“The reality is that it’s not just one or two teams paying a lot on wages. There are many. Many, many. Before the rumours was that it was just PSG and Manchester City. That is over. Everybody can pay a lot in fees and wages.
“It’s not just in England: it’s in Italy, in Spain, France. Maybe not in Germany. There are many and sometimes we can’t compete with that. We have to be quicker, faster and don’t get nervous. At the end of the day we want players who want to come here.”
