Pep defends spending spree
Pep Guardiola has defended Manchester City's spending since he took charge in the wake of the club-record deal for Aymeric Laporte and with rumours of a £55 million bid for Riyad Mahrez in the air.
The center-back's arrival takes City's spending to almost £448m in the 19 months in which Guardiola has been manager. So deep are the Citizens' pockets that they are eyeing the 50-million-plus valued Mahrez as a back-up option for Leroy Sane, who picked up an injury and is out for six weeks.
However, while Guardiola said that he could live with any criticism regarding spending, he said it was necessary in order to improve the quality of his entire squad.
"Some clubs spend £300 million on two players, we spent it on six players," he said Tuesday. "Last summer, we had six or seven out of contract and decided to sign six or seven more. "You need to spend to stay at the same high level. Maybe one day we'll spend £200 million on a player. It's up to the club how to spend their money; we decided to do it now. We might sign one or two in the summer.
Although Mahrez has ignored manager Claude Puel's pleas for him to stay by putting in a transfer request, Leicester are unlikely to let the 26-year-old leave for less than £90 million.
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