Guardiola plans spending spree to buy goals
AFP
AFP, MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola admits he will have to buy goals before next season in a bid to cure Manchester Citys lack of killer instinct.
Guardiolas side enter the final stages of the Premier League season with a top four finish still in doubt due, according to the manager, to their failure in the opposition penalty area.
While City are top of the chances created statistic in the division, they rank only seventh in goals scored and Guardiola claims there is only one solution to that problem.
We can accept the opponent scoring one goal, but we didnt score enough goals, Guardiola said on Friday.
We created enough chances. In the statistics, we are the team in the Premier League with the most clear-cut chances, but are seventh in the teams scoring the most goals.
Its complicated. When one guy is fast, hes fast, when one guys strong, hes strong, when one guys good at heading, hes good at heading, when one guy is good at scoring goals, hes good at scoring goals.
So when you buy a guy, whos fast, you buy a player whos fast, so goals, you have to buy. Thats what it is.
Sergio Aguero has 31 goals this season and Guardiola believes Citys campaign would have been different if young Brazilian Gabriel Jesus, who has scored four goals in four league starts, hadnt missed over two months with a broken toe.
But Agueros conversion rate has still been questioned and the City manager is an unashamed admirer of Arsenals Alexis Sanchez, who has 24 goals this season and previously played for Guardiola at Barcelona.
Sanchez may cost City around 50 million ($64 million, 58 million euros) if they manager to lure him away from their Premier League rivals.
But, in todays inflated market place, the form of Jesus, who cost City 27 million from Palmeiras last year, already appears a bargain.
Before we got him, we expected a lot of things, but not that impact as soon as possible. He will be the future striker in this club for the next years.
The good ones make a good impact but not many. Messi, for example, we took at 18, 19 years old scored and he scored 40 league goals in a year. The top players are top players. Sometimes we talk about needing more time, but when you are good, you maybe dont need time.
Guardiola is still hoping to finish in third place, and avoid having to play in the early qualifying round for the Champions League, which they would have to do should they finish fourth.
